March 7, 2011

Taiwan mulls overseas crop planting amid rising food costs

Taiwan is planning to follow in the footsteps of other countries by growing crops overseas to meet domestic demand amid soaring prices of raw materials, the agriculture agency said Thursday (Mar 3).

The Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) said it is mulling countries in the region with which it could cooperate, citing Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam as possible candidates for growing crops such as corn, rice, soy and wheat.

The overseas production plan, which will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is likely to be finalised within two months, according to the COA.

Taiwan will also learn from the experiences of China, Japan and South Korea in growing crops overseas, it added.