The Chinese mainland is ready to step up contacts with Taiwan on promoting cross-Straits agricultural cooperation and expanding its farming produce sale, said an official with the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council Friday.

"We welcome and is willing to provide opportunities for people from Taiwan's agricultural industry to start businesses on the mainland," said Tang Yi, deputy director of the economic bureau of the office, at a press conference.

Tang acknowledged Chinese mainland plans to invite responsible persons from the Taiwan side and leaders of local agricultural societies to come to visit from late March to early April.

"We are also willing to send groups to visit Taiwan, especially southern agricultural bases on the island province, for direct communications on sale of Taiwan's farming produce on the mainland," Tang said.

Taiwan's farming industry faces intensified competitions after the province's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002. Tons of agricultural products, especially fruits, is facing dire plight on the market. People in its farming and business fields aspire help from the mainland to tackle the problem.

In November 2004, a Taiwan delegation has visited the mainland to negotiate the issue of expanding sales of Taiwan's farming produce and has achieved positive outcome.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said last month that the Chinese government has shown its attention and will help promote the direct sale of Taiwan farming produce on the mainland.

Cross-Straits trading of farming produce has been expanding over recent years. Its total volume of trade hit 421 million US dollars in 2004, with 116 million dollars deriving from imports from Taiwan, an increase of 10.4 percent, according to Tang Wei, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Agriculture imports from Taiwan, however, kept taking up a relatively small proportion of the mainland total, that is, merely about 1 percent.

With a growing purchase power on the Chinese mainland, the demand for top-grade farming produce shoots up in a market populated by 1.3 billion people. Agricultural products, including tropical fruit, flowers and seeds, in Taiwan have a huge market potential on the mainland.

Taiwan's agricultural products have access to the mainland as other trading partners of China, as it currently has no special restrictions on their entry, according to the Ministry of Commerce.