Food manufacturers yesterday urged the government to negotiate with Beijing to relax an extensive ban on food products exported to China after a spate of food safety scandals.
After the adulterated oil scandals involving Ting Hsin Intenational Group (頂新國際集團) broke in September, 12 countries prohibited imports of locally made fat products and foods made with them, such as shrimp sauce.
As local food manufacturers replaced problematic oil or ingredients with certificated raw materials, some of the countries, such as Japan, began gradually scrapping the import bans, Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工總) chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) told a media briefing after a meeting with representatives from local food companies.
However, China is an exception, Hsu said, adding that it had kept the ban entirely unchanged and did not update the list of problematic food items, primarily due to the country’s complicated bureaucracy.
“As 40 percent of food products made by local firms are exported to China, local companies are worried that they will see a tremendous decline in revenue and even in bottom line if the ban remains in place,” Hsu said. “Those companies have profit margins of only 3 to 4 percent, so the impact would be significant.”
The recent food safety scandals are expected to cut NT$17.7 billion (US$573 billion) in revenue from local food companies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
The amount includes NT$6.3 billion in exports, the ministry added.
“The revenue [of our members] has shrunk at least 30 percent over the past two months, compared with the same period last year,” Taiwan Confectionery, Biscuit and Floury Food Industry Association chairman Clement Chen (陳正文) said.
A first-round of negotiations on easing the ban is scheduled to take place sometime after the Lunar New Year holidays, which fall in February, Hsu said.
The CNFI representatives and government officials will meet with Chinese officials, he added.
Separately, Taiwan Food Industry Association (台灣食品工業同業公會) chairman Kenneth Lin (詹岳霖) said that his association would push for the adoption of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in an effort to improve food safety control in Taiwan.
Lin said the adoption of GFSI would supplement and improve the flawed Good Manufacturing Practice system.
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