The annual exhibition will run through Nov. 24 as part of the Taipei Tea, Coffee & Wine Expo, which this year features 550 booths representing 250 exhibitors from countries such as Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Russia.

Coffee equipments and appliances, raw materials, roasting equipments, pastries, chain stores, specialty stores, as well as world-class coffees from all corners of the world are among the attractions of the event.

For the first time, Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama are jointly showcasing some of the best products of their region at the exhibition’s Central America Pavilion.

“For our countries, coffee is one of our main products and we are very proud to share with the Taiwanese and the international community the quality of our coffee,” said Marlene Villela-Talbott, ambassador of Honduras in Taiwan, during the opening ceremony.

“In Honduras, coffee is very important because some 100,000 families are directly dependent on coffee for their livelihoods, so it’s an industry that carries with it important social aspects as well,” she told The China Post.

Making its debut in the expo is Nicaragua’s award-winning Ron Flor de Cana, considered one of the best rums in Latin America. “We are very proud that for the first time Nicaragua has brought their famous Ron Flor de Cana, a very well-known liquor that we feel belongs to all countries of Central America,” noted Villela-Talbott.

“With the free trade agreement already in place between Taiwan and Honduras, we expect to see more Honduran products other than coffee in Taiwan — such as meat, fruits and vegetables — as early as next year,” she continued.

Taiwan has free trade agreements (FTAs) with its Central American allies of Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Recently-appointed Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Belize in Taiwan Efrain R. Novelo, explained that while Belize’s coffee industry is small, the coffees produced are of the highest quality and 100 percent organic.

Belize is also world-famous for its liquors such as Cristal rums, as well as for its cocoa beans, which are exported mainly to European countries such as Switzerland to make chocolate, he added.

“So far, there are no coffee products from Belize in the (Taiwan) market but I expect to see Belizean organically-grown coffee as of the first quarter of 2009,” noted Novelo. “This is one of the areas where I’ll be working with CATO (Central America Trade Office) to promote the coffee industry of Belize here.”

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