Taiwan Fresh: Taiwanese and Mainland Farm Produce Meet Up in Xiamen

To develop overseas markets for Taiwan's farm produce in response to the forthcoming opening of the island's agricultural markets after WTO accession, private-sector organizations commissioned the Scarecrow Foundation, the Taiwan Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association and the Taiwan Agricultural Strategy Coalition to jointly organize a group of exhibitors to participate in the first China International Fruit and Vegetable Fair, held in Xiamen from 11 to 14 October. The group was led by legislator Lin Feng-hsi, the DPP chief whip. Its organizers hoped that through this exhibition, Taiwan's high-quality agricultural produce could be marketed to mainland China and overseas.

The fair was the largest cross-strait agricultural exchange in history, and was also an international event with exhibitors from over 20 countries occupying nearly 1000 stands. It was visited by over 30,000 business people and members of the public. The sponsoring organizations included the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the UN Regional Network for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery (RNAEM).

The Taiwanese delegation numbered over 120 people, including farmers and trading companies along with R&D and marketing personnel working in the field of agricultural produce. The showcased Taiwanese produce included not only high-quality fresh fruit and vegetables in season, but also processed products and flowers. With 50 stands, the Taiwanese contingent was the largest from outside mainland China.

Mainland exhibitors, from provinces all over China, displayed not only familiar fruit and vegetable varieties, but also special produce in a wide range of unusual colors, shapes and varieties, including red bananas, outsized hydroponic water convolvulus, multi-colored sweet peppers, and even four-in-a-pod peanuts, and watermelons grown on trellises. Exhibitors hoped not only to excite consumers' curiosity, but also to create a market for novel fruit and vegetables.

The mainland media noted that to respond to its coming exposure to international competition, the mainland is accelerating its efforts to put horticultural production on a commercial footing. This is why Xiamen was chosen as a "base area" for cross-strait information exchange on tropical and subtropical produce.

On the opening day of the fair, the Taiwanese delegation put on a special discussion forum, led by Lin Feng-hsi, on "cross-strait exchange and cooperation." Almost 100 participants, including members of mainland agricultural delegations from Guangxi, Hunan, Anhui, Sichuan, Shandong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, made initial contacts on related matters. At the forum, mainland delegates showed a strong interest in Taiwanese horticultural techniques and produce processing equipment, and also expressed the hope that in future they could exchange crop varieties with farmers in Taiwan.

Lin Feng-hsi noted during the forum that Taiwan has world-class agricultural techniques, and a diversity of agricultural produce that is second to none worldwide. Finding ways to create the greatest benefit for farmers on both sides of the strait was the Taiwanese delegation's prime aim in attending the fair. In particular, Taiwanese agriculture has reached a high degree of technical maturity in aspects such as processing, freezing, and avoiding the use of preservatives. However, there are difficulties at present in spreading these technologies to provinces throughout China, so Lin hoped that through direct contacts such as this forum, they could together create opportunities for upgrading agriculture on both sides of the strait.

In terms of concrete benefits gained from exhibiting at the fair, Chang Woei-dai, executive chief of the Taiwanese group, stated that only a few minor commercial deals had been struck at the fair itself, but because this was the first ever large-scale agricultural cross-strait exchange, the emphasis at this stage was on increasing the visibility of Taiwanese produce, exploring the mainland as a new market, and understanding which varieties of Taiwanese produce are most competitive on the mainland. At the same time, the Taiwanese advertising and marketing personnel who assisted in the design and construction of the Taiwan pavilion, also studied the mainland commercial environment to formulate ideas on merchandizing Taiwanese produce there. In terms of bringing together Taiwanese agricultural organizations, trading companies and marketing personnel to jointly develop overseas markets, participating in the fair was a great step forward.

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"Taiwan Fresh": DPP chief whip Lin Feng-hsi (center), leading a Taiwanese agricultural delegation to Xiamen, holds up an enormous Asian pear from Taichung County. From left to right: Taiwan Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association president Chou Chieh-shih, legislator Lin Feng-hsi, Visiting Group executive chief Chang Woei-dai, Intersub Advertising Co. director Joseph Chang, and Visiting Group project executive Jack Chuang. (photo by Sharon Wu)