The Council of Agriculture is proposing increasing pork imports by 3,000 tonnes a month by halving the import tariff in a bid to curb rising pork prices.
The council would negotiate with the Ministry of Finance to lower the tariff to 6.25 percent from 12.5 percent, Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Chen Wen-te (陳文德) yesterday said during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee.
The council has commissioned the National Animal Industry Foundation (NAIF) to conduct the imports, with the non-governmental organization planning to store some of the pork to minimize the impact on the local pork market, Chen said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Chen said the council would also conduct a nationwide census of hog farms next month and fine-tune the policy based on the results.
However, the council would not ease its standard for zero tolerance of ractopamine residues in imported pork, he said.
The council’s statistics show that the pork price soared to NT$83.6 per kilogram on March 4, while the average price this month was NT$75 per kilogram. The price dropped slightly to NT$81.47 yesterday, Chen said.
“The price increase has been caused because pork suppliers are expecting prices to increase as the result of an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea [PED] from October last year to the beginning of this month, which killed 220,000 piglets,” he said.
Chen said the average weight of pigs sold in the first 10 days of this month was 122.9kg, higher than 121.6kg a year ago, as hog farmers had delayed selling their pigs on the market.
The council would also coordinate with state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) to increase pork supply by 3,000 pigs this month, Chen said, adding that until yesterday Taisugar had sold 1,350 more pigs this month.
The council would also negotiate with local frozen meat companies to sell more pork and less processed meat to the market, increasing pork supply by 400 to 600 pigs per day, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the council is also collaborating with the Fair Trade Commission to investigate whether pork suppliers at 22 meat markets and 29 frozen meat companies had colluded with each other to hoard pork and drive up prices.
Fair Trade Commission Chairman Wu Shiow-ming (吳秀明) said the commission would complete the investigation of local frozen meat companies by the end of next month, before the Dragon Boat Festival, when pork consumption increases as people make zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) for the festival.
After the commission completes all its investigations, the council would also investigate whether pork suppliers have infringed the Agricultural Products Market Transaction Act (農產品市場交易法), which requires pork suppliers not to store excessive amounts of pork and drive up prices, Chen said, adding that pork suppliers violating the law are likely to be subject to a maximum fine of NT$300,000, or the amount the supplier gained from the illegal action.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics says the consumer price index has risen 5.53 percent in the past five years, with food prices soaring by 9.35 percent.
Prices of aquatic products increased 28.55 percent in the past five years, followed by fruit products, which surged 22.78 percent, its said, adding that the price of meat increased 15.46 percent.
Republic of China Swine Association president Yang Kuan-chang (楊冠章) said he was disappointed with the Council of Agriculture’s policy.
“We have voiced our concerns and opposition to the government’s plan, but we can now only accept the government’s decision. It’s always been this way and we couldn’t do anything about it,” Yang said. “At the end of the day, local pig farmers need support from Taiwanese consumers. We call for everyone to consume domestic pork.”
Yang was among dozens of representatives of the pig farming industry who protested against the council’s plan yesterday morning.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said that the council’s measures would further jeopardize the pig-farming industry, as local farmers face the “triple threats” of the epidemic, the increasing cost of feed and imported pork.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
‘DIRE’: Taiwan would not engage in ‘dollar diplomacy,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after China reportedly offered Honduras up to US$3 billion to establish relations The government yesterday recalled its ambassador to Honduras after the Central American nation sent its foreign minister to China, signaling that it would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Suspicions concerning ties with Honduras are rife after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday last week wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina traveled to China on Wednesday “to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations” on instructions from Castro, Reuters yesterday quoted Honduran presidential spokesman Ivis Alvarado as saying. The government “has decided to immediately recall the ambassador to Honduras
SWITCH TO BEIJING: The government severed diplomatic relations about an hour after Honduras announced the move, saying that no semi-official ties would be maintained Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Honduras and ended all cooperation with the Central American country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, about an hour and a half after the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Twitter at 8am Taiwan time that the nation would cut its ties with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Wednesday sent Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina to Beijing to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations. She announced the plan on March 14 on Twitter. “To safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan is terminating diplomatic ties with Honduras with immediate effect” after communication with
MEDIA, SOCIETY FOCUS: Doublethink Lab said that Beijing is trying to coerce countries that rely on China economically to pursue policies in its favor China has stronger influence over Taiwan’s media and society than any other country, the Taipei-based Doublethink Lab think tank said yesterday, as it announced its China Index gauging Beijing’s global influence. Taiwan ranked 11th overall among 82 countries assessed, but first in terms of social and media influence, Doublethink Lab chairman Puma Shen (沈伯洋) told a news conference in Taipei. More than 200 experts and academics participated in the project, including some highly influential figures, Shen said. The index collects information from countries worldwide to gauge China’s influence and assess how Chinese policies affect them, Shen said. In terms of Chinese