During a meeting in Taipei to promote economic and cultural co-operation between Taiwan and Hong Kong Lai told civilian exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong had largely contributed to lay firm foundation for economic co-operation between the two sides. While Tsang who was on a four-day visit to Taiwan for the first bilateral talks said there should be more such high level exchanges to strengthen the ties.

Both countries are understood to have agreed to co-operate further in the areas of air transport, double taxation avoidance, tourism, health, culture and education. The meeting between the top officials from both sides is regarded as a major step forward in thawing of China-Taiwan relations. The meeting was part of the deal which Taiwan signed with mainland China in June.

Hong Kong is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trade partner, and two-way trade and the number of travelers between the two sides are expected to reach $38.8bn and 3mn respectively. The number of China-based Taiwanese businesses listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has reached 60, and some leading Taiwanese companies now consider Hong Kong as the main place for raising business capital.

Lai pointed out that to lay emphasis on promoting civilian exchanges between the two sides, the government last year relaxed employment restrictions on Hong Kong students, allowing them to enroll in graduate programs after graduating from local universities, and also began extending the duration of stay on visas for Hong Kong-based Chinese citizens visiting Taiwan. However, she admitted there were still some areas which require special attention to extract full result out of the trade ties with Hong Kong.

Lai was of the opinion that an announcement would be made soon on simplification of visa procedures for Hong Kong visitors. Besides Tsang, the meeting was also attended by Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (ECCC) Chairman Lin Chen-kuo and its Hong Kong counterpart, the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) Lee Y.

Toboc Trade News

The president of the Washington Apple Commission (WAC) Todd Fryhover said Iraq and Iran could be future expansion points for the otherwise stable but highly competitive Middle East market for Washington apples. Likewise, he informed apple exports to China and India from Washington were likely to double as these countries had large populations with increasing purchasing power.

The WAC identifies that direct access to these markets are key to increase sales. Washington shipped 1.9mn boxes of apples into Hong Kong and China in the 2008-09 sales season and that could double if “we had full varietal access,” Fryhover said. Under the prevailing agreements, Washington can export Red and Golden Delicious apples directly into China, but Gala, Granny Smith and any other varieties are not allowed. And these varieties reach China through the grey market route of Hong Kong.

According to the WAC figures, India’s appetite in the last five years increased significantly to 1.75mn boxes of Washington apples in the 2008-09 sales season. Higher buying power and lower quality of domestically sourced apples were the major factors cited as the reasons for tremendous acceptance of Washington apples in India despite very high customs duty.

Fryhover said Iraq already receives some Washington apples through Dubai, re-exporting centre of the UAE and Kuwait, but Iran did not have any such source. Iran being the second largest populated country of the Middle East after Egypt, which has two to three times more buying power than the Egyptians hold potential provided the Washington apples get direct access. Similarly, the changing trends in Iraq also will be explored through its efforts in the Middle East.

Last July, the WAC has tied up with the Arab Marketing Financing International (AMFI) to boost its presence in the Middle East. The AMFI, a Beirut-based company, with promotional representatives in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, takes up the responsibility of marketing of the apples through retail displays and consumer awareness about the Washington variety.

Currently, Dubai is the re-exporting portal for Washington apples into Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, Oman, Yemen and Jordan. And about 1.8mn boxes of Washington apples were sold to Dubai in the 2008-09 sales season.

Toboc Trade News