Vegetables from Taiwan will be showcased for the first time on
the mainland at an agricultural exhibition on April 20 in east
China's Shandong Province.
Taiwan's involvement in the exhibition was made possible after
the government annulled import tariffs on 15 categories of
Taiwan-grown fruits last August.
He Ziyang, deputy director of administration department from the
Ministry of Agriculture said more activities, such as forums and
exhibitions would be organized to encourage more Taiwan farming
produce to enter the mainland's market.
"Our efforts (to support Taiwan) are long-lasting and
heart-felt," he said, adding that the Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian
had been determined to obstruct across-Straits exchanges in
agriculture.
He said the mainland would make it easier for Taiwan to trade
farm produce with the mainland by relaxing customs clearance and
quarantine regulations.
"The next step will be to sit together and discuss safety and
health standards."
Taiwan Provincial Farmers' Association has been busy preparing
for the annual one-month agricultural produce exhibition in
Shouguang, said Li Yonghua, secretary-general of the Across-Straits
Agricultural Exchange Association.
The exhibition will showcase about 10 categories of fruit and
200 processed farming products from Taiwan. Some of the produce
that will be displayed includes lemon, towel gourd and
muskmelon.
In 2004, the Chinese mainland became the fourth export target of
Taiwan's farm produce, with US$292 million in export volumes.
He said business had increased following last-year's visits to
the mainland by Taiwan's former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang
Party Lien Chan and the chairman of the People First Party James
Soong, who reached a series of agreements on cross-Straits
relations with Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist
Party of China (CPC).
(China Daily April 13, 2006)