The Nicaraguan government isn’t the only one interested in growing Nicaragua’s agricultural sector. Taiwan also has plans to stimulate investment in Nicaragua’s burgeoning agricultural sector, said Taiwanese Ambassador in Managua, Jaime Wu.
Wu said Taipei, which in the past has given financial incentives for Taiwanese investors in Nicaragua’s industrial sector, is now starting to give the same incentives for Taiwanese investors who put their money toward Nicaragua’s agricultural sector, in areas such as rice production.
“It’s because of the food crisis. Nicaragua has the potential to cultivate basic grains,” he said. Taipei will subsidize business trips, financing and even worker salaries for investors, with a subsidy cap for each business at $700,000,Wu said.
He noted that Nicaragua’s agriculture sector was the motor for 36.7 percent of export growth during the first quarter of 2008, which reached a record $570 million, largely due to increases in food prices.
Coffee and beef were the top exports, with strong growth also reported in the dairy sector, according to Nicaragua’s ExportCenter, CETREX.
