The nation's chicken farmers are set to cash in on the deadly bird flu epidemic sweeping through Asia by filling orders from overseas.
Although Taiwan has reported some cases of a mild form of the disease, it has so far been spared the more deadly form that has killed at least 15 people in Vietnam and Thailand.
Thailand and China, where the deadly bird flu has also been found, were the region's top suppliers of chicken,according to the Poultry Association ROC.
Most countries have banned poultry from these countries, leaving Taiwan to fill the orders.
Indonesia, also affected by the disease, ordered 430 tonnes of Taiwanese chickens, which cost about 30 percent more than those from Thailand and China.
Council of Agriculture officials said some orders had come from Hong Kong and Japan, even though these countries have banned Taiwanese poultry.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it was negotiating to get the bans lifted.
The council said it would launch a Web site today to introduce Taiwanese agriculture products to foreign buyers.
The increased overseas demand could help offset a slump in sales in Taiwan, where the price of chickens has fallen below the cost of producing them.
"The council has allocated NT$20 million to buy domestically produced chicken, the market price of which is less than 95 percent of cost," council deputy minister Lee Jen-chyuan (
At the press conference, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said that although H5N2, a weak strain of the avian flu virus, had been found in Taiwan recently, consumers could be confident that domestically produced chickens were safe to eat.
Eating fried chicken and drinking chicken soup at the press conference with high-ranking officials and legislators, Yu proclaimed, "Taiwanese chickens, safe!"
Yu said that proper cooking killed the H5N2 strain in chicken.
Yu said that Taiwan is probably one of the cleanest areas in Asia, and orders for chickens from neighboring countries were rising.
"We don't have to be scared, because Taiwan is not on the list of countries affected by deadly bird flu," Yu said.
Yu said that epidemic controls, such as monitoring migratory birds and seizing smuggled products, would continue.
Yesterday, the council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine announced that the H5N2 strain was found in eight farms in central and northern Taiwan. About 230,000 chickens on affected farms in Tainan, Changhua, Miaoli, Taoyuan and Nantou counties would be culled soon, officials said.
Also see story:
CDC sets deadline for vaccination against avain flu
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS