Vice President Lien Chan this morning attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Foodstuffs Industrial Development and Research Institute (FIDRI), which contributed significantly to Taiwan's economic takeoff between the early 1960s and late 1970s.
Taiwan's foodstuffs processing industry, which turns out such products as canned mushrooms, asparagus and pineapple, was a major foreign exchange earner three decades ago, playing a key role in laying a solid groundwork for the island's economic development in later years, Lien pointed out.
As times changed and Taiwan's industrial structure evolved from being labor-intensive to capital- and technology-intensive, the foodstuffs processing sector bade farewell to its heyday.
"This, however, does not mean that Taiwan's food processing industry has ceased to improve, Vice President Lien noted, "By committing itself to research and development in biological technology for the rapid production of better, more nutritious and environmentally-friendly foodstuffs at lower costs, Taiwan's food industry has evolved into a higher-grade member of the manufacturing sector."
Taiwan's food processing industry now churns out some NT$500 billion in products annually, making it the third largest player in the island's manufacturing sector. With such a solid foundation and its increasing attraction of technical talent to its workforce, the food processing industry promises another takeoff in years to come, he said.