The Council of Agriculture (COA) is slated to hold a meeting this week to address concerns over the possible introduction of diseases by Chinese tourists should the nation ease restrictions on them next month.
As a number of animal and plant epidemics affect China, the council is worried that the easing of restrictions could pose a risk to agriculture in Taiwan.
COA officials said that an influx of Chinese tourists would pose a threat to domestic animals and plants. The prevailing blights in China include codling moths, fruit flies and thrips, the officials said.
fruit flies
Should fruit from infected areas be brought in by tourists, fruits flies could be introduced and spread, they said.
In addition, foot-and-mouth and blue-ear pig diseases are prevelant in China and there was a risk of domestic animals becoming infected, officials said.
Huang Kwo-ching (黃國青), director of the animal health inspection division at the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that the time of opening up Taiwan to Chinese tourists happens to coincide with Taiwan entering a one-year observation period as a non-infected area for foot-and-mouth disease.
vulnerable
This is when pigs are the most vulnerable to the epidemic as vaccinations will stop being offered.
The council will discuss how to prevent epidemics from being brought across the Taiwan Strait in the meeting this week, the council said.
Possible prevention measures include disinfection mats, prohibiting any importation of agricultural produce and the introduction of comprehensive measures for epidemic prevention on farms open to visitors.
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