Mayor of Hsinchu City Took the Lead to Rectify the Place of Origin of “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” Sold in Japan.

  Some lawmakers who went to Japan for a fact finding tour found that the “Hsinchu rice noodles” sold in Yokohama China Town were labeled with Zhejiang Jiaxing of China as the place of origin.  Indignant at the existence of counterfeit “Hsinchu rice noodles” originated from China, mayor of Hsinchu City, Mr. Jung-Tzer Lin and suppliers of genuine “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” intensely requested assistance from the Ministry of Economic Affairs for this matter and expressed that they will begin fightback in Japan.  The rice noodles association indicated that the sales of “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” in the United States and Japan have dropped markedly with the launch of Chinese low-priced counterfeits.

 

  The worldwide popularity of “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” has always been followed by heaps of its counterfeits sold in overseas market, which annoys the suppliers of genuine “Hsinchu Rice Noodles”.  Moreover, the trademark registration application of “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” is rejected in Taiwan, for it includes a geographical name.  For this reason, the association in 2005 begun to present a certified label on “Hsinchu Rice Noodles” as the measure to strike illegal counterfeits. 

 

  The value of Taiwanese agricultural products exported to Japan in 2005 amounted to 346 hundred million yen, which represents a 8% decrease compared to that of 2004.  If statistics covers all of the agricultural, forestry, and fishery product items, the value of export to Japan slipped by 13% in an amount of 1352 hundred million yen in 2005 compared to that of 2004.  In comparison, the value of Chinese agricultural, forestry, and fishery product items exported to Japan all remain in a steady growth, and China has become the second largest source of imported goods to Japan after the United States. (2006.07)

/CCS