To push farmers’ groups to better regulate the classification of agricultural products, the Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said it is considering an adjustment to brokerage fees by amending the regulations governing crop marketing.
As many fruits were overproduced due to warmer weather this year, the council has had to stimulate fruit sales and stabilize their prices, all while being involved in a power struggle with the Taipei City Government regarding control over Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp.
National Farmers’ Association Secretary-General Chang Yung-cheng (張永成) on Friday said that the council’s inaction has caused farmers to suffer serious losses following the plunging crop prices of the past seven months, as it is only thinking of how to secure power over the marketing company.
Chang’s remarks drew criticism from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), who said that Chang’s association collects about NT$60 million (US$1.96 million) in brokerage fees annually, yet did nothing to help alleviate the pressure on farmers.
Of the nation’s crop sales, nearly 40 percent are conducted through a “joint marketing” system, which means that local farmers’ groups gather individual farmers’ produce to send it to wholesale markets for sale, Agriculture and Food Agency Secretary-General Weng Chen-hsin (翁震炘) said yesterday.
According to the Agricultural Products Market Transaction Act (農產品市場交易法), farmers’ groups are allowed to collect certain brokerage fees from crop suppliers for their services after obtaining the approval of local authorities, Weng said, adding that the fees are usually 3 to 5 percent of the crops’ wholesale price.
“The purpose of farmers’ groups is to help farmers sell their products, and many groups failed to do that by not checking the quality or amount of crops before delivering them to wholesale markets, which consequently affected their prices,” he said.
The agency, starting from next month, would invite agricultural experts, farmers’ groups and local authorities to deliberate on how to amend the transaction act to make it fit the current production and sale conditions, he said.
It also plans to set up an assessment system to evaluate the performance of personnel working in the joint marketing system, Weng said, adding that these proposed changes are not meant to target specific groups, but aim to improve the overall crop sale system.
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