The Council of Agriculture (COA) and Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held the “1^st Taiwan-Poland Consultation Meeting on Agricultural Cooperation” in Taipei March 12,2018. The two parties reached consensus on issues that include upgrading mutually beneficial cooperation in agricultural fields such as animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, and strengthening bilateral trade in agricultural products, and they also agreed to strengthen links in agricultural technology and industries, and to work together to develop  emerging markets in Europe and Asia.

　　The COA states that Taiwan and Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishing A Consultation Mechanism in the Field of Agriculture last year (2017). This year the ministries of agriculture of the two sides held the “1^st Taiwan-Poland Consultation Meeting on Agricultural Cooperation,” for which Taiwan specially invited the Director of the Department of International Cooperation of Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to lead a delegation to Taiwan to engage in broad exchanges of views with the COA on topics related to agricultural cooperation and trade in agriproducts. Poland is a major producer of agricultural and animal husbandry products in Europe, and is one of the major source countries for imports of feathers into Taiwan, while Taiwan exports fruit juices, leather, and processed agricultural products to Poland. In recent years, both the volume and value of bilateral trade in agriproducts have shown an upward trend, and it is believed that through a regular dialogue mechanism, the two sides can promote mutually beneficial win-win cooperative models. Besides further increasing the volume and value of trade in livestock and poultry, fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers, and processed products, the two sides can strengthen bilateral cooperation in research and development of agricultural technology, and enhance substantive relations in the areas of innovative agricultural technology and industrial linkages.

　　The COA points out that issues discussed at the “1^st Taiwan-Poland Consultation Meeting on Agricultural Cooperation” included agricultural policy, market access, trade and its promotion, cooperation in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, and agricultural research and scientific development. The two parties also agreed to strengthen exchanges of experiences in marketing of agricultural food products, agricultural policy, agricultural technology, smart agriculture, and management of agribusinesses, which will benefit cooperative linkages between relevant industries in Taiwan and Poland, and also facilitate the entry into Poland’s huge potential market of Taiwan premium agriproducts and agricultural technology products. The COA also arranged for the Poland delegation a field trip to Tainan to understand Taiwan’s research and development in animal husbandry and technology application and practices in relevant industries, in order to deepen future cooperation and exchanges between business people, officials, and experts from the two sides.