Based on the projected benefits generated by tariff exemptions on Taiwanese fruit offered by China, a senior agriculture administration official said yesterday that this offer did little to help Taiwanese fruit farmers.
According to the Council of Agriculture's (COA) statistics, Taiwan might be able to export an extra 10 tonnes of fruit a month to China, council chairman Lee Ching-lung (李金龍) said.
"This extra amount, accounting for only 0.001 percent of the country's total fruit exports of 8,000 tonnes per month, does not benefit our farmers at all," Lee said.
Lee said that the zero-tariff measure that resulted in a 10 to 15 percent reduction in the market retail prices of fruit only benefits Chinese consumers.
Lee made the remarks while attending a forum held by the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei to discuss the problems surrounding Taiwanese fruit exports to China.
China exempted import tariffs on 15 kinds of fruit from Taiwan as of Aug. 1. According to the COA, about 32 tonnes of 12 different varieties of Taiwanese fruit were exported to China tax-free during the first 10 days of this month.
It could be estimated from these statistics that China would import about 96 tonnes of fruit from Taiwan in a month, Lee said.
"In the past, we normally exported about 86 tonnes of fruit to China. Now, with the help of the zero-tariff measure, we only get an extra 10 tonnes," he said.
Lee again called on the Chinese government to start bilateral talks with Taiwan over the problems concerning the fruit trade.
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