A delegation led by Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) departed for the US yesterday, where it plans to sign a US$3.6 billion deal in Washington to buy US soybeans, corn, wheat, beef and other agricultural products.
The council has carefully evaluated the nation’s market demands, and the deal would benefit Taiwan-US economic cooperation, Chen said.
The council sends a delegation to the US every two years to buy agricultural products and details of each deal are based on market demand and prices, but the quantity it plans to buy has increased this year, he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Taiwanese farmers use domestic soybeans and corn for fresh feed and imported ones, which are less expensive, for dry feed, he said, which means the imports would not depress domestic prices.
Included in the deal would be exports of US-raised meat, especially beef, the demand for which is increasing every year, he said.
Taiwan is the eighth-largest importer of US agricultural products and an important trade partner to the US, he said.
“Undeniably, the US-China trade dispute has affected US agricultural exports, and the deal is beneficial not only to US farmers, but also to Taiwan, as our nation is now in a better bargaining position in terms of prices,” Chen said.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office said the nation is taking action to strengthen Taiwan-US trade and it wishes to be a reliable trade partner.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor