Malaysian imports of Taiwanese agricultural products, largely comprising fruits and vegetables, are expected to hit US$3m this year in a continuation of the growth seen over the last two years.
The value of Taiwanese produce entering the Malaysian market reached US$2.4m during 2011, according to Taipei Economic and Cultural Office deputy representative Lin Min Li, a figure which was itself a 144 per cent increase on the previous year.
“Currently, there are three major Malaysian companies that import fruits and vegetables from Taiwan, and we are expecting the number to increase,” he told Bernama over the weekend.
One of those is key Malaysian importer Euro-Atlantic. Managing director Ebby Loo told Bernama the company had been working with the Taiwan Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur for the last two years to develop imports from Taiwan’s Changhua County.
“We imported three containers back in 2010 and doubled them last year. This year we target to import eight containers of fruits and vegetables from the country,” Loo said.
Changhua County’s most well known produce offerings include grapes, bitter gourd, guavas and melons.
Taiwanese exports to China have also been on the rise this year. Taiwanese fruit import volumes in Xiamen port, the main entry point for Taiwanese produce into China, had grown 60 per cent year-on-year, according to reports earlier this month.
Meanwhile, supplies of Irwin mangoes, one of Taiwan’s headline fresh produce exports, has taken a dive in recent weeks following damage caused by Typhoon Talim in June.
