A group of Taiwanese coffee importers plans to purchase 720 tonnes of coffee beans from Guatemala this year, up nearly 50 percent from last year, Central America Trade Office director Violeta Hsu (徐韶慧) said on Monday.
Thirteen Taiwanese businesses are participating in the Central America Coffee Economic and Trade Inspection Group that the office organized, said Hsu, who is heading the delegation.
Established in 1997, the office focuses on trade relations and promotions between Taiwan and its Central American allies. The office is supported by a development fund, which is managed by board directors consisting of the foreign ministers of Taiwan and the other nations involved.
Photo: CNA
The firms that are represented in the group are to procure enough coffee to fill 38 shipping containers as a result of the trip, which has included visits arranged by Guatemala’s National Coffee Association, she said.
“This shows Taiwanese consumers’ love for Guatemalan coffee, and highlights the abundant business opportunities between Taiwan and Guatemala,” she said.
Coffee beans from Guatemala accounted for more than 10 percent of Taiwan’s coffee consumption, making the country Taiwan’s fourth-largest coffee importer, she said.
The group visited Guatemala’s high-altitude Huehuetenango region to observe production processes from planting to roasting, and meet with local people involved in farming, processing and exporting the commodity, the office said.
In May last year, China announced a ban on imports of macadamia nuts and coffee beans from Guatemala, a move viewed as economic pressure intended to persuade the Central American nation to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
Guatemala is a diplomatic ally of Taiwan.
In response, Taipei promoted imports of Guatemalan coffee to help its diplomatic ally mitigate the effects of Beijing’s actions.
Guatemalan coffee imports last year exceeded US$18 million, up 13 percent from 2023, Bank of Guatemala data showed.
Coffee is the country’s second-largest export product to Taiwan, following sugar, the data showed.
Guatemalan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Julio Eduardo Orozco Perez thanked Taiwan for its assistance countering Chinese “economic coercion” during an official visit to Taipei in August last year.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS