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China benefits most from fruit sales, Chen says

Saying that more than 90 percent of "Taiwanese" fruit sold in China is actually not from Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said the Chinese counterfeiters, not Taiwanese farmers, were the only ones reaping long-term benefits from the import of Taiwanese fruit into China.

Chen said that fruit has been spotted on the market in China under the guise of "grown in Taiwan," and added that Taiwanese farmers' fruit has been hijacked by those profiting from Taiwan's name while selling non-Taiwan-grown produce in China.

"Beijing's press reported on Sept. 22, when the first shipment of Taiwanese fruit was imported to the city, that 90 percent of the fruit on the market that was labeled as being Taiwanese was actually not from Taiwan, but grown in Guangdong Province and Hainan Province," Chen said while giving a speech to members of local farmers and fishermen's associations.

China exempted import tariffs on 15 kinds of fruit from Taiwan on Aug. 1, but hasn't agreed to hold talks with the government on related details. The government appointed the Taiwan External Trade and Development Council to conduct negotiations on June 13.

The government's position on holding talks prior to encouraging exports to China has been criticized by the opposition camp as neglecting the potential benefits for fruit farmers.

Chen cited the problem of wrong labeling as an example, saying that trade disputes can't be settled without government-to-government negotiations.

"It was not easy to establish the reputation of Taiwanese fruit. Would it be possible for the opposition to settle the disputes?" Chen said.

He made an appeal to the farmers to back the government, and assist it in establishing a negation channel to regulate cross-strait trade in fruit.

Chen's comments on the amount of fruit being sold in China that is falsely labeled as "Taiwanese" was slammed by Chang Yung-cheng (張永成), secretary-general of the Taiwan Provincial Farmer's Association, a private organization engaged in talks on fruit issues with China.

Chang said Chen had made up the numbers.

"In August, while there were 105 tonnes of Taiwanese fruit exported to China, the amount sold in China was 120 tonnes. The amount of counterfeit [fruit] therefore is not as high as 90 percent," he said.
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