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KMT lawmaker pans TTL's Chinese imports

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu, right, holds up a carton of Chinese cigarettes at a press conference in Taipei at which he criticized Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp's recent purchase of 20 tonnes of tobacco leaf from China. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation's (TTL) recent purchase of 20 tonnes of tobacco leaf from China poses a serious risk to the local tobacco leaf industry, an opposition lawmaker said yesterday.

"Purchasing tobacco leaf from China is contrary to the government's policy of looking after the interests of Taiwanese tobacco farmers," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) told a press conference at the legislature.

Saying that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had previously instructed TTL to prioritize the interests of local tobacco farmers, Chiang urged the company to increase purchases in Taiwan and reduce its imports.

"At the end of last year, there was still about 4.7 tonnes of tobacco in storage. Although the stored tobacco is already going moldy, TTL is still bringing in foreign tobacco, not only from China, but also from other countries," Chiang said.

"This month, TTL has imported tobacco leaf from China, the US, Brazil, Greece, India and Mozambique, amounting to 2,071.68 tonnes," he said.

Chiang also questioned the legitimacy of TTL's establishment of an office in China, given the legal restrictions on state-owned enterprises investing in China.

In response, TTL general manager Lai Shung-tang (賴舜堂) told a separate press conference yesterday that the company purchased Chinese tobacco not only to meet requirements set by the Chinese government, but also to enhance the taste of Taiwanese cigarette products to make them more acceptable to consumers in China.

Lai said that cigarette products manufactured for export to China contained a larger percentage of Chinese tobacco to cater to Chinese consumers' preferences.

He said that the livelihood of Taiwanese tobacco farmers would not be affected, since the company still had to purchase Taiwanese tobacco for use in products for the export market.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲), who also attended the news conference yesterday, said that there was nothing wrong with buying Chinese tobacco, given that the company's ultimate goal was to export Taiwanese cigarettes to China.

Lai also admitted that the company had established a branch office in China, but said that this had been done to gain a better understanding of the Chinese market so that the company could increase exports of cigarettes and liquor to China.

"We agree with Lai that the establishment of a branch in China was meant to help develop a Chinese market [for Taiwanese cigarette products] instead of regarding China as a factory," Huang said.
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