Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday said that in 2018 the total value of Taiwan's agricultural exports hit US$5.47 billion, a 20-year high, and agricultural exports to China alone grew by 23 percent, setting a new record at US$1.27 billion. The government has continued to develop new markets and steadily increase exports to countries covered by the New Southbound Policy.
The premier made his remarks at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet, following a presentation by the Council of Agriculture (COA) on measures to encourage farm exports.
In order to promote further exports and win even more orders, Premier Su directed the COA to continue to integrate the strengths of the agricultural sector and use Taiwan's national resources to expand markets abroad. The premier said that the good export numbers should be reflected in the profits reaped by the nation's farmers.
The COA said that it plans to adopt a "Team Taiwan" concept to set up a task force dedicated to coordinating the resources of responsible agencies to establish a marketing platform for the farming sector. The platform will provide comprehensive export-oriented intelligence and matching mechanisms, as well as incentivize the expansion of agricultural exports into new markets.