The Tainan-headquartered World Vegetable Center has unveiled a programme aimed at sharing the vegetable germplasm it keeps with the countries of origin in an effort to increase crop diversity in Southeast Asia.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics has said it expects Taiwan's investment rate to hit a 27-year high in 2022, as local companies expand production and upgrade technologies.

Western countries have begun imposing a US$60-per-barrel price cap, and ban, on some types of Russian oil.

A delegation of Polish lawmakers is in Taiwan this week for a five-day visit.

Taiwan's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) in November fell 1.5 points month-on-month to 43.9, the fifth straight month below the neutral 50 level and the worst level since July 2012.

The cabinet has approved a draft amendment to the Commodity Tax Act aimed at extending the current commodity tax reduction period for buyers of new heavy-duty diesel vehicles until the end of 2026.

The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade says it will be sending a group to Taiwan later this month.

The Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) has cut Taiwan's official forecasts for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates to 3.06% in 2022 (down 0.7 percentage points from its previous forecast) and to 2.75% for 2023 (down 0.3 percentage points from previously).

Taiwan has signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to become a founding donor of a newly launched fund that aims to promote gender equality.