The Taiwan pavilion at Foodex Japan 2023, the 48th edition of the international food and beverage exhibition, opened Tuesday at Tokyo Big Sight international exhibition center, showcasing a wide range of special agriculture and aquaculture products.
Organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the Taiwan pavilion brought together 136 exhibitors operating 132 booths. With an exhibition area of 1,584 square meters, it is the second largest national pavilion at the expo which opened Tuesday and will run through Friday.
Nine county and city heads from Taiwan attended the opening of the food show to promote farm produce and related products from their localities.
At the opening, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (???), who led a delegation of 13 agriculture and aquaculture businesses from the southern Taiwan city to the fair, introduced jujubes, bananas, mullet roe, pineapples, cuttlefish balls, honey, guava, mulberry juice, milkfish, grouper and tuna sashimi to Japanese consumers.
Hachioji has placed orders for Kaohsiung-grown pineapples, which are scheduled to be shipped in May, for junior high school lunches in the Japanese city, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Kaohsiung City Government.
Meanwhile, more than 1,500 tonnes of bananas, over 500 tonnes of pineapples, 10 tonnes of Yu He Pao lychee and shipments of aquaculture products from Kaohsiung will be exported to Japan later this year, according to the statement.
At the same event, Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chun-mi (???) said more than 10 companies from the county participated in the expo to promote locally farmed grouper, locally made soy sauce, tortoiseshell and deer antler gelatin, alkaline water and essence of chicken.
In addition, mushrooms, rice vermicelli and aquaculture products from Changhua County, as well as Taitung specialties, including custard apples, tea drinks and red quinoa, were all touted during the event.
According to Council of Agriculture (COA) statistics, Taiwan's farm produce exports to Japan reached US$850 million in 2022, up 11 percent from 2021, making it Taiwan's second largest export market for agricultural produce, after the United States.
The main items exported to Japan last year were frozen aquaculture products, edamame beans, pineapples and cut flowers, according to the COA.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel