10 Taiwanese 'Rural Good Products' to enter Japanese market

Fukuoka, Japan, March 9 (CNA) Taiwan's fruit and vegetable marketing cooperative signed a memorandum of understanding with Shigemitsu Industry Co. -- best known for its brand Ajisen Ramen -- in Japan on Sunday, marking the official entry of 10 Taiwanese agricultural products into the Japanese market.

Taiwan's Deputy Agriculture Minister Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽) and Hiroshi Fuchiwaki, director of the Kumamoto Prefecture liaison office in Fukuoka, witnessed the signing in Fukuoka City.

Through this collaboration between Shigemitsu Industry and the Taichung City Shalu District Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Cooperative, 10 Taiwanese "Rural Good Products" -- including dried mango, dried guava and braised pork -- will be sold in Ajisen Ramen stores in Kumamoto.

This is the first time Taiwanese braised pork will be sold in Japan, Huang said, adding that the collaboration with the Japanese food company is "an important step" in internationalizing Taiwan's agricultural industries.

Shigemitsu Industry President Katsuaki Shigemitsu also said that selling Taiwan's "Rural Good Products" through its Ajisen Ramen stores strengthens ties between Kumamoto and Taiwan.

According to Huang, the "Rural Good Products," initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture's Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation, has selected 483 high-quality agricultural products from 314 businesses across Taiwan over the past 10 years to promote at home and overseas.