Taiwan-grown fresh fruit drew the attention of a number of Chinese buyers at a trade fair that opened Friday at the Taipei World Trade Center to showcase Taiwan's premium agricultural products. "Taiwanese fruits are considered high-end quality items in my city," said Zhang Xiangfeng from Jinan in Shandong Province. Zhang, a member of the Shandong Province Federation of Industry and Commerce, praised the quality of Taiwan-grown fruits at the first cross-Taiwan Strait trade fair featuring CAS-labeled agricultural products of Taiwan. The two-day event was organized by Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture to promote premium agricultural products from Taiwan.
The CAS (certified agricultural standards) label was set up by the council in 1989 to safeguard the safety and quality of food products by local makers. Zhang, who runs an agricultural development company in Jinan, said an increasing number of consumers in the city of 6 million people demand that their food be of high quality. Though China has its own food safety certification system, Zhang was more confident in Taiwan's system and food products from the island.
Dai Chengcai, head of the Bureau of Agriculture of Longyan in Fujian Province, said after sampling Taiwan-grown bell fruit, guava and custard apple that he felt the high-quality bell fruit had considerable potential in his market. Dai said Taiwan-grown bell fruits, also called wax apples, were available in Fujian at a price of 50 yuan per kilogram, but if Taiwan exported the CAS-certified bell fruit he sampled at the show, the price could exceed 80 yuan per kilo.
The CAS (certified agricultural standards) label was set up by the council in 1989 to safeguard the safety and quality of food products by local makers. Zhang, who runs an agricultural development company in Jinan, said an increasing number of consumers in the city of 6 million people demand that their food be of high quality. Though China has its own food safety certification system, Zhang was more confident in Taiwan's system and food products from the island.
Dai Chengcai, head of the Bureau of Agriculture of Longyan in Fujian Province, said after sampling Taiwan-grown bell fruit, guava and custard apple that he felt the high-quality bell fruit had considerable potential in his market. Dai said Taiwan-grown bell fruits, also called wax apples, were available in Fujian at a price of 50 yuan per kilogram, but if Taiwan exported the CAS-certified bell fruit he sampled at the show, the price could exceed 80 yuan per kilo.
