“This is a first,” said Peter Huang, president and CEO of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), referring to the considerable number of prominent figures from the global fisheries industry who came together for the opening ceremony of the second Taiwan International Fisheries and Seafood Show (TIFSS) on Nov. 9.
Huang said that as an island nation, Taiwan had been granted a bountiful harvest of natural resources when it came to fishing. “Taiwan’s fisheries industry has stemmed from a history of traditions, eventually building toward annual revenues of nearly NT$100 billion last year, with much of it exported overseas.”
Huang said that in recent years Taiwan’s fisheries industry had become increasingly renowned for its diverse and refined fishing and processing technologies. “What we want to do is to lay it all out in the form of an exhibition, an organized platform, not only to demonstrate its business potential, but also to venture on the different opportunities it can offer.”
From fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing to related technology and services, the TIFSS is the only exhibition of its kind that connects professional expertise across the fisheries industry, connecting those in supply chain management, government agencies and representatives from the worlds of academia and research.
Connecting its specialty areas with the global market holds great significance for Taiwan, and is set to have a major impact on the advancement of the nation’s society.
“Compared to the debut show last year, the scale of the exhibition has grown by more than 10 percent and expects to attract more than 8500 buyers, domestic and international alike, to join in the grand event,” said Ball Chang, president of the show’s co-organizing company, My Exhibition.
To take advantage of the plethora of business opportunities in the international fisheries market, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established cooperation agreements with several nearby countries in the Pacific region, namely Nauru, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands.
“Right now, we’re also in the process of discussing the establishment of another cooperation agreement between the fisheries industry of Taiwan and that of Kiribati … to build on a foundation of sustainable fisheries,” said Leo Chen-jan Lee, vice minister of foreign affairs.
The city government of Kaohsiung has also put substantial effort into supporting the fisheries industry, as the city accounts for more than 50 percent of the nation’s catch.
“Along with the Marine Bureau, the city government of Kaohsiung seeks to showcase its fishery products to various consumer markets overseas, at the same time create a common value between fisheries, consumers and the environment,” said Yang Ming-jou, secretary general of Kaohsiung City Government.
1999 2016 The China Post