TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will try and replicate the launch of rice exports by a Farmers’ Association in Yunlin County to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to benefit other areas, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Saturday (July 15).

COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) was on hand in the city of Dounan for a ceremony marking the first rice exports by the Farmers’ Association to the Middle East, per CNA. He described the event as a “historic moment” for local agriculture.

By the end of 2023, the association is expected to ship 110 metric tons to Dubai. Last year, the Dounan group exported 1,000 tons of rice to Australia and New Zealand.

Chen said the formula could be replicated by other Farmers’ Associations across the country, as the exports would expand income for local farmers by a significant margin. The quality of local rice products had also helped Dounan become a supplier to high-class hotels, Japanese restaurants, and supermarket chains, he said.

The minister compared Taiwanese rice to semiconductors. Just like the whole world was buying computer chips from companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., so the world could also find the best rice at the Dounan Farmers’ Association, according to Chen.