Striving to foster deeper connections between agricultural industries in Taiwan and Poland and increase trade in agriproducts between the two nations, on October 26 Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, and the Polish Office in Taipei jointly held the “2023 Taiwan-Poland Business Forum on Premium Agri-Food.” During the event, businesses from both countries introduced special agricultural products, including local tea beverages, aquatic products, and fruits, to invited trading firms and sales channel operators. Through both in-person and online attendance, a total of 75 business people and public and private sector representatives participated with the aim of boosting trade in premium agriproducts.

The MOA states that given challenges such as global climate change and food security, it is extremely important to continue to deepen global trade in agriproducts and cooperative partnership relations in the agricultural sciences. In the future Taiwan will continue to improve links with the agricultural sector in Europe, exploit the vast potential of the European market, and promote premium agriproducts from Taiwan, while expanding connections with agriproduct supply chains in other countries in order to enhance the resilience of Taiwanese agriculture, stabilize the supply of agriproducts, and create mutual prosperity. The MOA’s Department of International Affairs adds that trade in agriproducts between Taiwan and Poland has steadily increased since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation in 2017. Notably, the value of exports of Taiwan agriproducts to Poland from January to September of this year (2023) reached US$5.5 million, an increase of 46.6% compared to the same period last year. This shows that there is considerable room for development of the markets for agriproducts in both countries.

At the forum Taiwanese businesses introduced domestically produced tea products including honey-scented black tea and liquor-scented tea, featuring cutting-edge rapid tea extraction technology, with the aim of further promoting tea culture to the world. In terms of aquatic products, Taiwan tilapia, which has won certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (which has the world’s highest standards), not only demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to responsible aquaculture management, but also conforms to the sustainable fisheries trend of replacing catching of fish with fish farming. As for fruit, in the first stage delicious premium quality dried mango and dried pineapple are being promoted. This aims to facilitate the swift entry of high-quality tropical fruit produced from Taiwan into the Polish market.

The “2023 Taiwan-Poland Business Forum on Premium Agri-Food,” the first such forum, aimed at deepening long-term agricultural cooperative partnership relations and promoting trade in premium agriproducts from both countries. In addition to presenting their respective high-quality agriproducts, both sides actively engaged with related trading companies to advance mutually beneficial agricultural interactions. Through the joint efforts of the public and private sectors in Taiwan and Poland, exports of agriproducts from both countries can be expanded, thereby offering consumers more diversified and abundant choices of premium agricultural products.