Negros agri group visits Taiwan shows
A group of agribusiness practitioners from Negos Occidental led by Gov. Alfredo Marañon recently visited the Agricultural Trade Show and the Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Gov. Marañon was himself very interested in the fishcages, work boats and walkway deck exhibited at the expo. The governor, by the way, is a grower of Vannamae shrimp which has very big local and export markets. The members of the group who numbered more than 20 delegates from the private sector also toured the agricultual exhibits which included various equipment for mechanization, food processing machinery, plant growth enhancers, greenhouse technologies, postharvest machinery and various horticultural products.
The group also witnessed the auction market for flowers and ornamental plants in Kaohsiung. Among the most saleable flowers are orchids, chrysanthemums and several others.
The group also observed the wholesale market where various vegetables and fruits are the main commodities that were sold. The place is a very big roofed structure that is also very clean and the stalls are very well-arranged.
The group also visited the Fongsan Farmers’ Cooperative which boasts 48,000 members and a net profit of NT$6 billion last year. A total 62 percent of the amount is used to subsidize the pruchases of the members whereas the 38% is used for the operations of the cooperative which has its own bank and other properties.
The Negros delegation also visited a pineapple cake factory which produces the equivalent of 13.6 million worth of cakes every day in its Kaohsiung branch alone. It has another branch in Taipei.
The group also enjoyed orange picking at the Fairy Lake Leisure Farm in Tainan which is an organic farm. The place is visited by 30,000 visitors a year. Visitors are made to experience picking the ripe oranges growing on sloping hillsides. An entrance fee is charged but the picker can eat all the fruits he can while in the field and is also allowed to bring home 10 fruits free or charge.
The Negros delegation also visited the Taiwan Sugar Company which has stopped growing sugar but is now in other agricultural ventures and real estate development. The company put up by the Japanese in the early 1900s is now the biggest real estate owner in Taiwan. Some farm lands are being rented to farmers to grow their own crops.