Taipei  - Taiwan's farm exports rose 12 per cent in value year-on-year, with rice and carrot exports surging more than 100 per cent, due to growing overseas demand, a newspaper said Wednesday.

According to the United Evening News, Taiwan's 2008 farm exports hit 3.8 billion US dollars, up 12 per cent from 2007, bringing exports up to pre-1997 levels, when and outbreak of pig foot-and-mouth disease crashed meat exports.

Many countries bought rice from Taiwan in 2008 as several rice-exporting nations halted exports, while others switched their vegetable imports to Taiwan amid reports of toxic contamination of Chinese food products.

Taiwan, which grows high-quality rice comparable to Japanese rice - regarded the best in Asia - usually exports only small quantities, keeping most of the rice for domestic consumption.

But in 2008, it exported 33,855 tons of rice, up 109 times from 2007 export levels of 310 tons. (dpa)