Taiwan yesterday exported its first batch of fresh pork since the nation was declared free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2020.
The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in June 2020 officially declared Taiwan proper, Penghu and Matsu an FMD-free zone where vaccination is not practiced.
With the help of the government, Taiwanese pork slaughterhouses Cha I Shan Foods (嘉一香), Shin-le Food (欣樂), He Rong Yi Food (和榮意), Tai-an Food (泰安), Sings Kout (信功) and T-Ham (台畜) obtained import permits for fresh pork from the Philippine Department of Agriculture in January.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
In July, Philippine pork importers visited the factories of Taiwanese slaughterhouses and one of them finalized an order with Cha I Shan Foods after two months of negotiations.
Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) and Chan I Shan Foods chairman Chen Kuo-hsun (陳國訓) yesterday attended a ceremony in Pingtung County to seal the 40-foot shipping container that was filled with 22 tonnes of fresh pork for export to the Philippines.
The container is expected to arrive in five to seven days, which means that Filipinos would be able to buy Taiwanese pork in about a week.
This first successful export since Taiwan was declared an FMD-free zone sends a positive message that can motivate hog farmers to cooperate with disease-prevention policies and brings hope for slaughterhouses that sell frozen meat products, the minister said.
Following its success in eradicating FMD, Taiwan has launched a plan to end vaccination against classical swine fever, as the WOAH still lists the nation as an epidemic area for the virus.
If the plan works out, Taiwan is to submit an application to the WOAH for classical swine fever-free status, the minister said.
He called on the pig farming industry to have their freezing equipment ready, as “Taiwanese pork products will begin to enter the international market.”
Thanks to the support of pig farmers, as well as the processing and freezing industries over the years, Taiwan might become the only Asian country free of FMD, African swine fever and classical swine fever, he said.
Securing an order with the Philippine company indicates that the quality and production process of Taiwanese pork meet the requirements of the global market and are able to compete with major international meat suppliers such as Denmark and Spain, Chen Kuo-hsun said.
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