Participants at a Taipei seminar on cross-strait agricultural exchanges expressed their doubts yesterday about the competitiveness of the nation's agricultural products in the Chinese market in light of their high prices.
Huang Chin-shan (黃金山), secretary-general of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), pointed out that China is one of the major fruit-producing countries in the world and imports only 103 tonnes of fruit a year, mainly from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
It is doubtful if Taiwan fruits can compete with the relatively cheap products from these Southeast Asian countries after they enter the Chinese market, Huang said.
According to Huang, TAITRA started promoting Taiwanese fruits to China several years ago, but the reaction has been unsatisfactory.
Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Huang Wei-feng (黃偉峰) noted that although Taiwanese fruits are best known for their high quality, their prices tend to be high because of the expensive production costs involved.
In addition, China currently imposes a 20 percent customs duty and a 17 percent business tax on imported fruits, and it is still uncertain when China will start its pledged tariff-free treatment for 15 kinds of Taiwan fruits, Huang Wei-feng said.
He said the government has never prohibited the export of agricultural products to China, including fruits, pointing out that Taiwan exported agricultural products worth US$292 million to China and US$822 million to Hong Kong last year, which accounted for 23 percent of Taiwan's total agricultural exports.
However, fruit exports to China and Hong Kong last year amounted to only US$890,000 and US$7.54 million, respectively, which represents 1.78 percent of Taiwan's total fruit production value, he said.
Liaw An-ding (廖安定), director of the Council of Agriculture's Planning Department, said China is actually more interested in attracting agricultural investments from Taiwan because the lack of critical technology is a main disadvantage of China's agricultural sector.
Liaw warned that Taiwan will lose its competitive edge if the government does not manage cross-strait investment effectively and allows the transfer of Taiwan's agricultural technology to China.
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