The COA continued its endeavor to promote international market access for Taiwan’s premium agri-products during the year. The COA assisted agri-businesses to attend 20 food-related exhibitions in Japan, Hong Kong and the United States. The COA also conducted sales promotion in Japan and South Korea to increase marketing channels. The export value of agri-products in 2007 was US$3.433 billion, which was an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year. Among them 29 commodities including Phalaenopsis orchids, vegetable soybeans, bananas, eel and duck meat were valued at US$439 million, an increase of 14.9 percent over the previous year.
The Taiwan Floriculture Development Association in association with the COA organized the 2007 Taipei International Flower Exhibition in October. The highly acclaimed exhibition made it possible for Taiwan-grown flowers to reach out and to gain a foothold in the international market. The export value of flowers in 2007 was US$106 million, a 36.4 percent increase over the previous year. The export value of Phalaenopsis orchids surged in 2007 reaching US$49.61 million, up 40.2 percent from the previous year. Apart from flowers, mango exports to Japan, South Korea and other countries substantially increased in terms of both volume and value to stringent sanitary measures and pesticide residue inspection prior to export. The export volume reached 4,838 tons, a big increase of 79.0 percent over the previous year. And the value was US$9.83 million, up sharply from the previous year by 129.7 percent.
Other agri-products also broke new ground in 2007: mangoes to Australia after three years of negotiation; bananas to South Korea after a 10-year lapse; poultry products to South Korea; and processed chicken and pork products to Singapore.
