The 2007 Taipei International Food Show, Taipei International Food Machinery and Technology Show, and Taipei International Packaging Industry Show, shared the stage at the Taipei World Trade Center from June 21-24, drawing a record turnout of buyers, and exhibitors from home and abroad.



Organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the three exhibitions attracted a combined total of 898 companies using 2,449 booths.

The 16-year-old Taipei International Food Show has steadily grown over the years to become the biggest event in Asia`s food industry. This year, a total of 616 companies exhibited at 1,584 booths, up 14% from the last event.

According to TAITRA, the four-day exhibition attracted approximately 40,000 visitors, including 2,800 foreign buyers. The three-in-one exhibition presented a wide range of products and technologies covering the upstream, mid-stream, and downstream segments of the food industry.

Taiwan`s R&D achievements in this area were also highlighted during the fair, attracting a swell of foreign buyers. Domestic producers of high quality food and relevant machinery expect a surge of follow-up orders from the event.

A World Under One Roof

The Taipei International Food Show featured 31 national pavilions this year, up from an average of 20 or so in previous years. Taiwan, Japan, the U.S., seven Latin American countries, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, eight African nations, Chili, Denmark, and Mexico all had pavilions to tout their products to the global market.



Taiwan hosted 172 booths and Japan 80 booths. The U.S. and South Korea set up 52 and 40 booths, respectively. Several nations from Latin America, including Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras, jointly erected the FTA (Free Trade Area) Nations Hall, showcasing the specialties of these nations, including coffee, seafood, sauces, juices, and meat products.

Most leading domestic businesses, including Taiwan Sugar, Laurel Foods, Kong Yen, Dachan Great Wall, Vedan, Mayushan Foods, Chen Hsiang Foods, Long Kow, Kuai Kuai, Weilih Foods, Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise, and Famous House, also participated in the event. This show has become one of the best trade platforms in Asia, generating countless business opportunities for exhibitors.

TAITRA also invited wineries rated highly by the Sinyi, Yushan, Shusheng, Puli, and Dahu Farmers` Associations to set up a special Winery Area showcasing the rising stars of Taiwan`s wine making industry.

The three-in-one exhibition was designed to provide one-stop convenience for food industry buyers.

The Taipei International Food Machinery & Technology Show was jointly organized by TAITRA and Taiwan Food & Pharmacy Machinery Manufacture`s Association (TFOMA). A total of 157 domestic and foreign companies signed up for 502 booths, including Anko Food Machine, Seven Castle Enterprise, Jaw Feng Machinery, Promarks Vac, Kinn Shang Hoo Iron Works, and Hundred Machinery Enterprise.

The Taipei International Packaging Show was co-organized by TAITRA and China (Taipei) Packaging Association. A total of 125 companies signed up for 364 booths, registering a 14.6% and 20.1% growth, respectively.

As a hub in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan each year draws some 100,000 foreign businesspeople to attend various trade shows. The month of June attracts more conference participants to Taiwan than any other month of the year due to six major international trade shows held at the TWTC at that time. One trade show alone, COMPUTEX Taipei, the world`s second-largest information technology show, attracts more than 30,000 foreign participants each year. Other shows, including FPD Taiwan and the Taipei International Food Show, are also responsible for bringing large numbers of overseas businesspeople to the island.

A Taste of Taiwan

This year, foreign visitors to the three-in-one show had a chance to taste a variety of local foods at the "Taste of Taiwan Cuisine 2007" festival. Authentic local snacks, traditional delicacies, creative menus, and various ethnic cuisines were all highlighted at the exhibit.

"Food is one of the main attractions for the millions of tourists and business visitors that come to Taiwan every year. The availability of a wide range of gourmet dishes is reason enough to come to Taiwan," TAITRA said.

To facilitate the cuisine campaign, TAITRA designed the "Taiwan Biz Cuisine Passport," providing information on the 61 famous hotels and restaurants participating in this endeavor. The passport comes with a "Taiwan Cuisine Card," which offers exclusive discounts for international business travelers at selected venues during the month.

Food Imports Up

Although the total value of food imports by Taiwan increased by only 2.5% to reach NT$26.8 billion (US$817.07 million at US$1:NT$32.8) in the first quarter of this year, dehydrated foods, frozen foods, and coffee and its substitutes rose substantially by 32.2%, 22.5%, and 12.3%, respectively, according to statistics compiled by the TAITRA.

Among dehydrated food imports, processed fruit and vegetables accounted for the majority, around 84%, and grew by 186% from the same period of last year. The surge in dehydrated food imports is attributed to looser market restrictions and changing dietary habits in Taiwan, which are increasing acceptance to processed food.

In the field of frozen food imports, meat accounted for 30% of the total and grew 112% from the year earlier. The rise is due to increased dining-out in Taiwan, which led to rapid growth in the food and beverage industry and an increase in the demand for imported meat.

In the category of coffee and its substitutes, the import increase is attributed to the soaring number of coffee shops in Taiwan, which exceed 12,000 according to statistics by the Taiwan Coffee Association. The value of coffee imports in the first quarter of this year hit a new high of NT$270 million (US$8.23 million).

On the export side, Taiwan`s shipments of food product in the first quarter of this year dropped slightly by 3.4% to around NT$11.2 billion (US$341.46 million). Products that experienced the greatest fall included dairy products (34%), livestock meat (17.4%), and dehydrated foods (12.7%).

Taiwan`s main export markets for dairy products are mainland China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asian nations. Supply shortages in the dairy sector have weakened the price competitiveness of Taiwan`s dairy exports.

The main livestock meat exports are fresh and refrigerated duck, which are mainly exported to Japan. In recent years, in the face of competition from low-cost mainland China duck farms, the market for Taiwan`s duck meat exports have shrunk.

Dehydrated foods exports have also fallen in the first quarter of this year due to lower production of fruit and vegetables in Taiwan.

Despite the slight drop in exports, the value of Taiwan`s food industry grew to NT$105 billion (US$3.2 billion) in the first quarter of this year, a 3% increase from the same period of last year. Products that saw the fastest growth included flour noodles (9.3%), processing of animal feed (9.2%), cooking oil (8.7%), and frozen food (7.7%).

FoodTech Taipei

With the rapid expansion of the Asian food market and the increased demand for food processing machinery in Asia, the number of vendors seeking to enter this market has soared to a new high. A total of 157 exhibitors took part in the Taipei International Food Machinery & Technology Show (FoodTech Taipei) this year, comparable to the number of registrants in 2006.

FoodTech Taipei has been held every year since 1998. The show has moved from the early days of individual showcases, to a fully vertically integrated show, displaying everything from packaging to food processing industries. Major showcases at this year`s FoodTech Taipei included food technology and products, food and drink processing, baking, food packaging, freezing, refrigeration and cooking equipment, waste disposal and sanitation, CAD & CAM (computer aided design & manufacturing) systems, analysis and measuring devices, restaurant equipment, vending machines, food additives, and food industrial technologies.

According to statistics compiled by the Directorate General of Customs under the Ministry of Finance, Taiwan-made food processing machinery exports have been on the upswing since 2002, surpassing US$80 million in 2005-an increase of 3.48% compared to 2004. Total Taiwanese machinery exports in 2006 amounted to US$13.87 billion, which represented a 5.6% growth compared to the previous year. Exports of Taiwanese food processing machinery for 2006 grew by about 3% and stayed at above US$80 million.

The top five export markets in 2006 were the same as the previous year: mainland China and Hong Kong together, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand, though exports to India have been rising rapidly as well.

The main categories of food processing machinery exports were cake makers, package sealers, machinery for hot drinks or hot foods, and machinery for wheat products.

Taiwan Food & Pharmacy Machinery Manufacturer`s Association chairman Liu Ching-san said the expansion of the Taipei International Food Show into a three-in-one exhibition, including the two major items of food manufacturing machinery and packaging, provides a complete trading platform system for the food industry.

"Food products are consumable goods and attract the general public, while machinery and packaging machines are manufacturing tools. The combination of the two into one exhibition can integrate the vertical supply chain and horizontal market of the industry and allow interested investors or overseas buyers to easily gain a deep understanding of the industry from the upstream manufacturing process and machinery to the end packing and products. Exhibition participants can even taste the food on the spot," noted Liu.

Cutting-edge Pharmaceutical-making Machines

One of the most outstanding manufacturers at the show was Yenchen Machinery Co., which showed off its cutting-edge food processing equipment. The company has also gained a reputation for its high-quality pharmaceutical making machinery.

Sales representative of the company Sam Lo said Yenchen`s pharmaceutical machinery could be used for drying, granulation, and pellet coating. The machine suspends finely powdered substances in the air and then uses a spray gun to coast the powder with a binder substance allows the powder to coalesce into larger granules. The granules can then be coated with a film by spray guns and simultaneously heated and dried. The process can be repeated for a specified number of layers to achieve the intended granule size or coating thickness. Drying with these machines is 10 to 20 times faster than with the conventional dry oven.

Yenchen has used these procedures to service Western and traditional Chinese medicine alike. The products the company involved in preparing range from Centrum to instant noodle meals.

Yenchen also does most of its business on the international arena. Some of its biggest clients include healthcare companies GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. Yenchen was established in 1967, and since then, its sales have grown to over 13 different countries across the world. A sales representative noted that in the pharmaceutical machinery industry, Yenchen has essentially no serious competitor in Taiwan.

Still, Yenchen seeks to rise higher, as was evident from the company`s exhibit, which featured a video highlighting the company`s high standards and future ambitions. Considering that its president Liu Ching-san is the chairman of the Food and Pharmacy Machinery Manufacture`s Association, a big player in FoodTech Taipei, it seems clear that Yenchen will continue to occupy a high-profile position in Taiwan`s food industry.

Packaging and Filling Machinery

Whether packaging or filling, Auger Enterprise Co. has the machinery to handle the job. As one of the up-and-coming players in the industry, Auger has been constantly expanding sales into overseas markets, including Japan, Malaysia, India, Dubai, and Italy.

"Our company has branches in major business cities around the world," said Hiroshi Wang, the spokesman for Auger.




The company, one of many in the industry presented at the FoodTech Taipei 2007, has an average annual revenue of about NT$70 million (US$2.12 million at UD$1:NT$33) in sales a year.

The secret to the company`s success is its close relationship with customers and the durability of its products. "Durability is the one thing that makes our machinery better than our competitors`," Wang said.

The company recognized early the importance of making durable and reliable packaging and filling machines. "When we started, our machines weren`t fast enough, and the machines often malfunctioned," Wang said. "After two or three years, and many adjustments and developments, we were able to turn out high quality products."

The packaging and filling machinery market has been weakening recently, according to Wang, but unlike other companies, Auger is still making a profit.

"The biggest problem we`re facing right now is that we don`t have enough manpower," Wang said. "Everyone else is having trouble making money, and we`re looking for more people to expand production."

While demand is high, Wang has mixed feelings about doing business in mainland China. "There is a lot of business potential in the mainland, but the problem is that you risk having our products copied by other manufacturers there," Wang commented. "But copying is not that easy. Sure, it might be cheaper. But you get what you pay for. So there are positives and negatives if you do business in the mainland."

The company hopes over the long-term to steadily develop faster and more precise machines. But in the short-term, the company is betting its success on the strength of its relationship with customers, since most of the company`s business is generated by word-of-mouth.

Advanced Packaging Machines

AAM Group-Chyng Cheeun is one of Taiwan`s top-three manufacturers of continuous sealing machines. It also makes over 50 types of other food processing machinery, including vacuum packaging machines, food mixers, and rice and bean processing machinery.



The company currently mainly exports products to the Untied States, Canada, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mauritius, and countries in southern Africa.

AAM Group-Chyng Cheeun said the U.S. remains its most consistent export market, while recently the company has received a large number of orders from southern Africa. Yet the company is facing competition from mainland China in overseas markets, said company representative Sophia Wu at the Taipei International Packaging Industry Show.

Wu said that manufacturers of food-packaging machinery have been struggling with the rise of the price of raw materials. "The price of stainless steel has risen by 20% to 30% over the past few years," Wu said. "In addition, the increasing number of food-packaging machinery manufacturers has intensified competition within the industry."

To stay competitive, AAM Group-Chyng Cheeun has invested heavily in product development. "We are continuously developing faster and better-performing machines," said Wu.

But recently, AAM Group-Chyng Cheeun has found itself losing out to lower-price mainland China food-packaging machines in certain overseas markets. For example, Wu said the company has a hard time making sales to Southeast Asia, where buyers say mainland China-made machines can be bought at lower prices.

Wu said that her company wouldn`t even consider expanding into the mainland China market. However, Taiwan`s food-packaging machinery manufacturers have an advantage over mainland manufacturers-the high quality of products and after-sale services, she noted.

Fully Automated Packaging Processes

Tian Cherng Packing Machinery Corporation, based in the Gueiren, Tainan County, is a specialist designer of fully automated packaging processes.

Since its establishment in 1986, the company has developed a series of packaging machines and laborsaving equipment to offer total solutions for the packaging industry worldwide. Its major products are heavy-duty PP & PET plastic strapping band making machines, fully automated carton sealing and stacking machines, automated bailing machines, and movable automated stretch wrapping machines.

The company displayed newly developed carton forming machines, fully automated weighing and sorting machines, and bar code scanning and labeling machines at the show.

"Our machines are designed to meet customers` special requirements," said Chen Ming-shun, president of Tian Cherng.

Most of the company`s products are designed and produced in house. "We can develop a wide range of packaging machines to help customers in different industries put together suitable packaging system," said Chen.

Chen said that manufacturers in this line have to operate with a variety of packaging materials and with limited space. "Thanks to our extensive manufacturing and design experience, we can tackle almost any problem faced in the packaging process."

(by Ben Shen)