Japanese and South Korean apples and pears might disappear from store shelves early next year if the two nations fail to submit effective inspection measures to restrict the "peach moth," which the government has listed as a harmful vermin.
The Council of Agriculture amended plant-quarantine regulations earlier this month, stipulating that detrimental insects, including the peach moth, cannot be imported into this country.
FEBRUARY DATE
The new regulation is set to take into effect on Feb. 1, to allow exporting nations sufficient time to draw up their own complementary measures.
"This regulation will mainly affect Japan and South Korea as they are the major fruit exporting nations for Taiwan," said Chang Shu-young (張世揚), director of the plant quarantine division of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
According to the council's statistics, Japan exported 6,114.4 tonnes of apples to Taiwan as of last Sunday, accounting for 13 percent of total apple imports.
The top two apple exporters, New Zealand and Chile, secured nearly 70 percent market share, during the same period of time, the figures show.
Impact on the market should be limited if Japanese and South Korean apples are really banned, Chang said.
However, the situation would be different for the pear market as South Korean pears outnumber those of other exporters, with 4,421.6 tonnes as of Sunday, compared with Japan's 52.6 tonnes.
Carrefour Taiwan, the nation's largest hypermarket operator, said it is evaluating the impact of the new regulations, as its fruit sales will definitely be affected.
But it is impossible for stores to stockpile imported fruit because of storage difficulties, said Dream Lin (
BROAD IMPACT
With the Queensland fruit fly also listed as another harmful insect, the council's amended regulations will affect more than 10 types of fruit from Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, Russia and the US.
Inspection authorities in Australia, Japan and South Korea have submitted drafts of their plant-quarantine proposals to the government for review, according to a press release issued by the council yesterday.
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