Lin Hou-chih, vice general manager of the Taipei-based Royal Base Corp., which developed the flower, said quality of the company's white phalaenopsis dubbed "Join Angel" won first place in the category of Phalaenopsis cut flower at Horti Fair 2008 in Amsterdam that took place Oct. 14-17.

The company also got the second- and third-highest scores with two other flowers in the same category, Lin went on.

These prize-winning flowers will help the company in its efforts to carve off a bigger market share in the Japanese market for white cut flowers for funerals, Lin said. White is the traditional mourning color in Japan.

According to Lin, the company bought phalaenopsis seedlings from local growers and cultivated the flowers in greenhouses in Vietnam, while its research center in central Taiwan has concentrated on developing flowers of better quality.

The company started exporting white phalaenopsis to Japan for funeral use three years ago, with this year's export volume registered 200,000 stems, a figure that accounted for only 3 percent of the market share, Lin went on, adding that it has not been easy to enter the Japanese market.

However, the company is willing to keep trying, as the Japanese market offers great opportunities, Lin said, pointing out that according to business estimates, Japan will have 1 million funerals and will need 6 million phalaenopsis flowers every year for the next three decades.

Lin said the company uses scientific methods to cultivate its orchids and applies new technology management methods to pursue stable quality.

He emphasized that Taiwanese orchids, though are more expensive than Japanese-grown varieties because of their higher quality, have good sales performance in Japan's market.

About 80 percent of the company's production is currently exported to Japan, while 20 percent, which are more colorful varieties, goes to the American market, Lin said.

He added that the company has projected next year's export volume to Japan at around 400,000 stems, rising to 600,000 in 2010.