The government projects Taiwan will have a NT$3 trillion (US$92.62 billion) bioeconomy industry by 2020 and will make comprehensive the elderly health care system to establish a long-lasting path for next-generation economic development and citizens' welfare, Premier Mao Chi-kuo stated today while addressing the 2015 BioTaiwan Committee conference.
Taiwan's bioeconomy development plan encompasses industry development measures in five major areas: pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical equipment, elderly care, foods and agriculture, Mao said. These measures will link up with those in Productivity 4.0 and the white paper on Taiwan's aging society to serve as the government's major administrative policies in the bioeconomic industry's next-phase development. Meanwhile, by establishing a service model for elderly care, the whole citizenry's welfare will be augmented and Taiwan's economy will rise to yet another peak.
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, the bioeconomy development plan will integrate upstream and downstream resources in the industrial chain and speed up technology development and commercialization in order to augment Taiwan's international market, Mao pointed out. The government expects pharmaceutical production value to exceed NT$100 billion (US$3.09 billion) with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 percent and the industry's added value rate to reach 35 percent.
In medical equipment, the government will help industries incorporate information and communications technology (ICT) and precision machinery and materials to develop high value-added medical equipment and provide smart elderly care services, generating higher economic benefits. It is estimated the industry's total production value will surpass NT$200 billion (US$6.17 billion) with a CAGR of 8.4 percent.
In elderly health care, the premier further pointed out that the government will help scale up relevant technology-application services to expand the nation's elderly health care industry to NT$1.4 trillion (US$43.22 billion). The government will provide comprehensive elderly care to citizenry via integrated health care services with the help of science and technology.
To advance the food industry toward the goal of annual production value of more than NT$800 billion (US$24.70 billion) and a CAGR of 4.7 percent, the government will usher in the development of key food products to raise the industry's global competitiveness by enhancing its supply chain and technological innovation via such means as food management and health food education.
In the agricultural sector, the administration has set the goals of achieving more than NT$600 billion (US$18.52 billion) in annual production value, augmenting agricultural and bioeconomic technological capacities for global competitiveness, fostering an environment for the development of agricultural and bioeconomic industries, cultivating industry-oriented and cross-sector versatile talents, and promoting the globalization of agricultural and bioeconomic industries.
The premier reiterated that in recent years bioeconomic development has boasted enormous potential benefits and bright prospects. Consequently, the whole world is rushing in to invest in the industry, making it a competitive hotspot for industrial development. Taiwan cannot be absent from this race, he stressed.
With the biotechnology development capacity it has accumulated over time as well as its ICT capabilities, Taiwan has the value-added advantage of developing bioeconomy via cross-sector collaboration to generate a greater technological edge and capacity for industrial diversity.
The premier stated that his administration, based on the consensus and conclusions reached by the conference, will formulate challenging goals in such areas as industrial technology, talent, laws and regulations, investment and capital-raising environment, infrastructure and globalization. With forward-looking and macro strategic thinking, the administration will speedily and proactively formulate measures that are internationally competitive and will execute them thoroughly.