The Chief of Mission to the Taiwanese Government in Nigeria, Andy Liu, has disclosed that the value of trade between Nigeria and Taiwan was halved to $500m in 2023, from $1bn in 2021.
Liu stated this recently in Lagos while speaking at the 2024 Taiwan Business Forum in Nigeria.
He explained that Taiwan was a net importer of Nigeria’s agricultural products, especially sesame seeds.
The envoy maintained that despite the decline in trade volume, Nigeria remained a destination for Taiwanese businesses.
“The highest peak of trade reached about $1bn in 2021. It was the peak of COVID-19, with Nigerians enjoying surplus trading with Taiwan. We imported more of Nigeria’s agricultural products, such as sesame, aside from oil-related products. In 2021, we had a huge demand for agriculture products for our food processing industries,” Liu stated.
He added that in 2022, the trade declined because the providers of Nigerian food products had already matched their demand.
“So, from 2022 to 2023, we experienced a decline to about $500m, which was still a great value because both countries were still trading. So, we might see some level of increase in the near future,” he enthused.
He bemoaned the high level of adulteration of Taiwanese products, saying Taiwan had been suffering all kinds of counterfeiting and piracy all over the world.
The envoy stated that to address the challenge, the Taiwanese government had been sending delegates to different parts of the world to showcase the quality of Taiwanese products.
“We have been having our delegates visit the world to prove that we are victims of piracy, but we are going to use the platform to show that we have good and quality products to let the world know who the true providers of these quality goods are.
“We are very glad to come to Nigeria to demonstrate who is the true owner of quality brands. The most unfortunate thing is that counterfeiters always come to different countries and run away when they have made their profits, but our suppliers would stay to provide good quality products but also provide after-sale services,” he stated.
According to Liu, Taiwan came to provide its services and also guarantee the quality of its products.
Also, the President of Globe Industries Corporation, David Hwang, blamed the influx of counterfeited products from China for the decline in profit margins.
“Our businesses are going down because of counterfeited products. We found out that these adulterated products are cheaper than the original products and this is hitting deep into our profit margins.
“We are here to find partners so that we can do business in a different way that will benefit both international and local businesses,” he explained.
On his part, the Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Sola Obadimu, said one key attribute of the Taiwanese was that they were focused on African businesses, adding that the quality of their products was guaranteed.
He assured that NACCIMA would continue to work with Taiwanese companies to drive business growth for both countries.
“We will continue to interact with Taiwanese companies while we would also work behind the scenes,” he noted.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
