Taiwan pineapple in a supermarket in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province Photo: VCG

1,504 exhibitors and 633 buyers will attend the 2023 Cross-Straits Modern Agricultural Fair & Cross-Straits Flower Expo to be held in Xiamen and Zhangzhou, two cities in East China's Fujian Province, between November 30 and December 2, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Friday.

The expo, held after a series of trade expos and meetings with a focus on enhancing integrated development with Taiwan compatriots, will further boost economic links across the Straits, according to observers.

The expos will increase economic and cultural exchanges across the Straits and deepen the integration of both sides of the Straits in various aspects, Wei Baigang, an official with the ministry, told a press conference on Friday. Wei noted that there will be 107 trading groups from the two sides attending the two events.

In addition to agricultural and floral exhibits, the two expos will also display products in fishery, forestry and e-commerce. The expo in Xiamen covered an area of 36,000 square meters and the floral expo in Zhangzhou has a display area of 23,000 square meters.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, cross Straits agricultural trade in 2022 reached 8.42 million tons, up 16.25 percent year-on-year, according to Wei.

The buyers include leading e-commerce companies, supermarket chains and large-scale wholesalers in the mainland.

The expos will be held after a series of economic and trade boosting events held in recent weeks.

The two-day 2023 Cross-Straits CEO Summit for entrepreneurs from both sides of the Taiwan Straits concluded in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, on Wednesday, with some key industry deals finalized and new plans announced, highlighting the increasingly important role of a more integrated cross-Straits supply chain.

At the summit, five mainland companies and five island-based firms signed memorandums of understanding, spanning diverse sectors from vehicle manufacturing to solar photovoltaic products. 

A number of island-based companies also participated in the China International Import Expo held in early November in Shanghai, expressing full confidence to seize the opportunity to ride on the fast-paced development of the Chinese mainland's economy.

The mainland is providing more policy support to enterprises from Taiwan. Localities such as South China's Hainan Province and East China's Fujian Province have recently released policies to encourage and support Taiwan enterprises to invest and start businesses and facilitate the travel of Taiwan residents to the mainland.

"Each platform offered by the mainland will mean one more opportunity of Taiwan-based companies," an observer told the Global Times on Friday, noting that cross-Straits exchanges have been on the rise after the pandemic.

The Chinese mainland is ready to offer help for the island of Taiwan's exports of agricultural and fishing products to the mainland, including the grouper, after due rectifications are made, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday. The imports of groupers from Taiwan were suspended in June 2022 after prohibited drugs were detected.