‘Sourcing Taiwan 2013' Generates Record US$4.93B. in Purchases

Sourcing Taiwan 2013, held in late March, attracted about 600 buyers from 60 countries and regions. The show created business opportunities valued at an estimated US$4.93 billion, a record high.

The event was organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the government-backed trade promoter, which organized 10,000 one-on-one trade talks for foreign buyers and more than 2,200 local manufacturers during the event.

TAITRA Chairman C.K. Wang says that 62 of the foreign buyers have annual revenues of more than NT$1 billion (US$33.33 million) each, and 222 have revenues in excess of NT$100 million (US$3.33 million) each. About one-fourth of the total; 142, came from10 emerging markets including mainland China, Brazil, Turkey, and the countries in Southeast Asia. First-timers included buyers from Finland, Belgium, Cyprus, Austria, Kuwait, and Iraq.

For the first time, the event offered a Moslem food-tasting section, with 18 Moslem food-approved Taiwanese food makers providing free samples to visitors on site. Among the buyers, 162 focused on the purchase of “green” products and nearly 40% of the 128 Chinese buyers were interested in buying machines and related facilities.

Vice Economics Minister Bill Cho says that Taiwan's exports have been warming up since August 2012 and that the island's economic growth in the fourth quarter of the year reached 3.72%, a six-quarter high. In the first two months of this year, the island's export value rose by 2% YoY to US$45.41 billion. With these encouraging figures, Cho believes that a better economic climate is in store for the rest of the year.

Breakdown of Buyers Attending “Sourcing Taiwan
Industry	No. of buyers	Ratio (%)
Green items (including solar energy, wind-driven generators, electric vehicles, LEDs)	162	26.98
IT telecom products and electronic parts	93	15.55
Machines	84	14.02
Hand tools and fasteners	61	10.21
Food and agricultural products	60	9.91
Auto parts and automotive electronics	49	8.23%
Large chain distributors	43	7.16
Medical equipment and biotech products	37	6.1
Bicycles and sporting goods	11	1.83
Total	600	100.0

Source: TAITRA

Outcome of Sourcing Taiwan, 2009-2013
Year	No. of participating countries and regions	No. of buyers	No. of local suppliers	No. of one-on-one talks	Purchasing value (US$B)
2009	63	543	2,710	13,800	4.26
2010	43	450	2,010	10,000	3.65
2011	48	470	2,080	10,900	4.02
2012	59	566	2,000	10,000	4.56
2013	69	688	2,200	10,000	4.93

Source: TAITRA