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The COA holds the “2019 Tasty Taiwan” event at the Isetan department stores in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aiming to break into the high-end consumer market for Halal agriproducts and foods

2019-06-28

In order to raise the visibility and popularity of Taiwanese agricultural and food products in Muslim markets, the Council of Agriculture (COA) commissioned the Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI) to implement the “project for surveying commercial opportunities and promoting Taiwanese agricultural and aquatic products (including processed products) in Muslim markets.” As part of this project, the COA is cooperating with Isetan department stores in Malaysia to hold the “2019 Tasty Taiwan” event from June 28  through July 12. The activity will start simultaneously in two branches of the Isetan department store in Kuala Lumpur:KL Isetan KLCC and Lot 10. A total of 48 agricultural products and food suppliers from Taiwan are providing Halal-certified foods tailor-made for consumers in Malaysia, which are proving to be highly popular in terms of both flavor and quality. The CDRI also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Isetan of Japan, so that in the future the CDRI can help suppliers and manufacturers of brand-name Taiwanese products engage with Isetan in business matchmaking and international cooperation for selected products, thereby expanding opportunities for the export of Taiwanese agriproducts  to Malaysia.

The opening ceremonies for the “2019 Tasty Taiwan” event at the Isetan department stores in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The COA has been commissioning the CDRI to implement the “project for surveying commercial opportunities and promoting Taiwan agricultural and aquatic products (including processed products) in Muslim markets” since 2017. Under this project, outstanding Taiwanese companies are offered one-on-one matchmaking with sales channels in three Islamic countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. The “Tasty Taiwan” event in Kuala Lumpur has gathered together 48 outstanding agriproduct and food suppliers from Taiwan. In addition to eight successful firms specially selected by the COA—including the Taiwan Golden Buckwheat Company, D.E. Chung Hua Foods Company (for vacuum packed braised foods), Young Sun Frozen Food Company (for edamame), K.K. Orchard (for sweet potatoes), PopSmile (for popcorn), Lian Hwa Foods Corporation, Wei Chuan Foods Corporation, and HwaNan Foods—other well-known participants include the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation, Kuang Chuan Dairy Company, Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, Chi Mei Corporation, I-Mei Foods Company, Trico Foods Company, Kimlan Foods Company, and Tseng Noodle. At the venue they are selling many types of premium-quality, delicious, and Halal-certified products such as fresh fruits and vegetables (including mangoes, Oriental pears, cantaloupe, guava, bitter melon, and loofah), dried instant noodles, snacks (including mochi, pineapple cakes, suncakes, and popcorn), seasonings and sauces, frozen foods, cool drinks, and coffee and tea drinks. The event enables Malaysia to increase the options for safe food products for the enjoyment of Muslim consumers. Visitors can also ente in a drawing for Taiwan-Malaysia round-trip air tickets if their purchases reach a specified level. The response at the activity venue has been extremely enthusiastic. 

The Commerce Development Research Institute (CDRI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Isetan of Japan.

The COA states that in 2018 Taiwan exported US$5.46 billion worth of agriproducts, setting a new high for the last 20 years. Of these, exports to the United Arab Emirates increased by 12.2% and those to Malaysia by 17.7%. Given the rising number of commercial opportunities worldwide for Halal products, the COA has conducted overseas market surveys and promotional projects, taking the initiative to tap into commercial opportunities and to bring Taiwanese suppliers into contact with buyers. Also, the COA has, in the spirit of “Team Taiwan,” brought together domestic farmers’ organizations, agribusinesses, city and county governments, corporate bodies, and Taiwan’s overseas representative offices to promote the export of products which are produced under contract for specific industries and are Halal-certified. The COA works to build premium brand names for export, expand and develop e-commerce, publicize Taiwanese agriproducts in the media, do marketing, and seek out sales channels, so that outstanding agricultural and food businesses from Taiwan can meet the needs of Halal markets, sell products around the globe, and raise farmers’ income domestically.

COA divisional chief Tang Shu-hua and Taiwan’s representative in Malaysia Anne Hung were present at the signing of the MOU between the CDRI and Isetan of Japan.