Paraguay last month held its first footwear and leather goods exposition as part of Taipei’s plans to help stimulate growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the diplomatic ally, the International Cooperation and Development Fund said yesterday.
Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies.
SMEs make up 50 percent of Paraguay’s GDP, fund Deputy Secretary-General Alex Shyy (史立軍) told a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the Republic of Paraguay
About 99.7 percent of the businesses in Paraguay are SMEs, including 97 percent of micro-enterprises with 10 or fewer employees, he said.
The government in 2019 launched a program to improve the Paraguayan government’s capacity to assist SMEs and foster 14 key industries, including leather, dairy, textiles and ready-made clothing, and mate drinks, Shyy said.
Paraguay is known for its animal husbandry, and its beef products are available in Taiwan, he said.
However, it imports about 80 percent of the leather shoes sold in the country, indicating problems in the manufacture and supply chain of footwear, Shyy said.
The fund worked with the Paraguayan government to organize the expo to promote the country’s leather industry, which is the focus of this year’s efforts, he said.
The expo on Aug. 27 was attended by Ambassador to Paraguay Jose Han (韓志正), Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Commerce Luis Castiglioni and other officials, he added.
For the show, the fund asked emerging Paraguayan designers to create 200 products made of leather to make the expo more appealing to retailers, Shyy said, adding that 19 firms obtained purchase orders at the exhibition.
To boost Paraguay’s footwear industry, the fund helped local designers improve the quality and design of their products, encouraging them to blend traditional culture into their designs and cater to young consumers, he said.
Out-of-fashion models was one of the reasons Paraguayan consumers did not buy locally made shoes, he added, citing a survey conducted by the fund.
To boost online shoe sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund also introduced digital marketing tools to Paraguay and joined forces with local unions to improve the resilience and competitiveness of local firms, Shyy said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
RSS