The Chinese mainland will send three delegations of enterprises to the island of Taiwan in the next three months to purchase goods ranging from craftwork, processed food, raw material to mechanical parts, the Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday.

The aim is to help the people of Taiwan get business opportunities during "financially difficult times" and strengthen cross-Straits trade ties, Yao Jian, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement.

Though the ministry did not reveal the dollar value of the purchases, China Central Television (CCTV) said the purchases could be worth "$8 billion to $10 billion".