The government is planning to introduce a new service allowing Chinese tourists to place orders for agricultural specialties in Taiwan and pick up the goods after they have been delivered to China as part of an effort to promote local farm products, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
COA officials said the service was aimed at making shopping more convenient for visitors to the country and helping to boost sales of agricultural products.
Products to be covered by the service are expected to include tea, liquor, rice, bamboo crafts, aquaculture products, chicken essence and black-bone chicken, the officials said, predicting that the service would help increase the output of agricultural specialties to NT$15.6 billion (US$470.87 million) per year by 2012.
However, they said it remained uncertain as to when the service would be officially launched, because negotiations will be required with China over quarantine and inspection of the agricultural products before they enter China.
The government hopes that the service will cover not only processed farm products but also fresh produce, the COA said.
In terms of channels of delivery, the COA is considering several options, such as airport delivery, delivery to Taiwanese-run or local retail outlets in China and delivery by international courier services.
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