The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said it would budget more than NT800 million (US$26.92 million) to help Taiwanese fish farmers, after China this week implemented a ban on grouper imports from Taiwan.
The Chinese General Administration of Customs on Friday last week announced that it would suspend the imports from Monday, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year.
The council yesterday said it would offer grouper farmers cash subsidies to promote their products in other Asian countries.
Photo: CNA
They would receive NT$40 per kilogram of grouper transported by ship and NT$75 per kilogram transported by plane, it said.
Exports to other places — including the US, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East — would receive subsidies of NT$50 per kilogram transported by ship and NT$75 per kilogram transported by plane, the council added.
It also budgeted NT$40 million to initiate overseas promotion of Taiwanese grouper, the COA said.
The Fisheries Agency is setting aside NT$82.6 million to fund interest-free loans running up to one year, and would offer assistance and training for those interested in raising grouper, agency Deputy Director-General Lin Kuo-ping (林國平) said.
The program would run until May next year, Lin said.
The agency said it is also allotting NT$377 million for subsidies of NT$40 per kilogram of grouper that has been scaled, gilled and gutted, NT$40 per kilogram of grouper steaks or filets, and other expenditures for fish farmers working with online platforms, supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants.
COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) wrote on Facebook that Beijing wrongfully accused three farmers of producing allegedly tainted fish found on two ships.
The fish on those ships came from 11 separate farms, Chen said, adding that tests conducted there were negative for tetracycline, malachite green and crystal violet.
“This scientifically demonstrates that Taiwanese groupers are safe,” Chen said.
Chen said the council would provide the findings to its Chinese counterpart, urging it to provide proof of its claims.
China should abide by international law and uphold the global trade order, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said China was “obstructing Taiwan’s freedom of trade.”
The government would stand with Taiwanese fish farmers, and continue to uphold and protect their rights, she said during a visit to fish processing plants and farms in Kaohsiung.
Additional reporting by Huang Hsu-lei
An unauthorized drone intrusion over Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (清泉崗基地) at Taichung International Airport on Tuesday night forced the temporary closure of the base, diverting eight fighter jets and delaying a commercial flight, authorities said. Air Force Command Headquarters said that clear weather had allowed for scheduled night training exercises, but after a drone was spotted entering the airspace, the control tower declared an emergency closure of the airport, forcing eight Indigenous Defense Fighter jets in the air to divert and land at Hsinchu Air Base (新竹基地). Taichung airport director Chang Jui-shu (張瑞澍) said the airspace intrusion lasted from 7:37pm to
Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading to a volcanic island to report on an eruption there, officials said yesterday. Anak Krakatau initially erupted for about 25 hours over the weekend, and it has since continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater, the Indonesian Geology Agency said in a statement. A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten Province, for the volcanic island, Banten Province Search and Rescue Office Chief Al Amrad said. He
PRICE STABILIZATION: The Ministry of Economic Affairs has urged the legislature to support the Cabinet’s supplementary budget for state-owned energy companies State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) on Saturday announced that it would raise domestic gasoline prices by NT$0.7 (US$0.02) per liter and diesel prices by NT$0.6 per liter this week after international crude oil prices rose above US$100 per barrel last week. Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said that it matched CPC’s price adjustments for this week. The decisions end a six-week period during which CPC and Formosa kept fuel prices in Taiwan unchanged. Retail gasoline prices this week would rise to NT$31.2, NT$32.7 and NT$34.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively at CPC
More than 100 Taiwanese-Americans, Taiwanese lawmakers and members of civic groups on Saturday marched through New York City to call for Taiwan’s participation in the UN, with Marshall Island Permanent Representative to the UN John Silk joining the event to show support. Participants chanted: “UN for Taiwan” and “Keep Taiwan Free” as they marched through central Manhattan, passing Times Square and Bryant Park before ending near the New York Public Library. The annual march brought together Taiwanese community groups from across the US East Coast. Silk expressed hope that Taiwan would one day be able to participate in UN meetings
RSS