"We plan to produce 10,000 units a month for the (April-September) first half and raise output to 20,000 in the second half starting in October," the spokesman said.

Sharp began assembling 20-inch television sets in Mexico in May, with LCD and other parts shipped from Japan and finished products exported to the North American market.

The move "will enable us to respond to demand more promptly as land transport (from Mexico) to North America is much faster than exporting products from Japan," the Sharp spokesman said.

Including exports from Japan, the company targets to sell 400,000 LCD television sets in North American in the year to March 2004, up about 70 percent from the previous year.

SPACE.WIRE