The economic growth and rising standard of living in Taiwan are creating new opportunities for Spain’s citrus sector, according to a new assessment from the Spanish Institute of Overseas Commerce (ICEX).
With a population in excess of 23m and a well-established tradition of fruit consumption, the agency believes prospects are ripe for all citrus exports, in particular clementines.
In its report, ‘The Market for Fresh Citrus in Taiwan 2008’, ICEX concluded that there was an “increasing interest in Taiwan in new high quality products, especially western products”, adding that fruit remains an important part of the average shopping basket in the country.
But although Spain received official approval to begin citrus exports in 2007, the agency found that the majority of exporters in the country’s key citrus production region of Valencia still did not have a presence in Taiwan.
One crucial problem, ICEX noted, was that Spain’s citrus season coincides with Taiwan’s own production calendar, while the high value of the euro means that citrus from Australia or South Africa is more attractive for Taiwanese importers.
Despite this, the agency said a possible opportunity existed for clementine exports to Taiwan, claiming that although the variety is all but unknown in the market, its quality exceeds that of Australian and Japanese tangerines.
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