The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that the lifting of a ban on the importation of US pork containing traces of ractopamine has led to higher prices for domestic pork.
Citing data from the Council of Agriculture, KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) told a news conference in Taipei that the average price for pork was NT$77.35 per kilogram on Tuesday, up 21.23 percent from a year earlier, when the average price was NT$63.8 per kilogram.
COA Minister Chen Chi-chung’s (陳吉仲) explanation that the increase was due to the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday was a lie, she said, adding that pork prices in the five days before the holiday last year dropped 3.42 percent.
Photo: CNA
The average price of pork on Jan. 1, when the importation ban was lifted, was NT$72.06 per kilogram and has since risen, Wang said.
Chen should tell the public whether the price would climb further before next month’s holiday, Wang added.
The increase in pork prices would lead to price hikes for other food items, for which pork is a basic ingredient, she said, adding that the implementation of labeling requirements for domestic pork products was a mess.
The only way for people to make sure that they are eating safe food is to rely on themselves, Wang said.
The main reason for the pork price hike was the lifting of the ban, without requiring labeling on each pork product whether it contains ractopamine, the KMT said in a statement.
This was politically motivated, it said.
Without proper labeling, prices for imported pork cannot be adjusted in the domestic market, leading people to buy more expensive pork products with the “Taiwan pork” label, it said.
The government allowed the imports, but its measures to support the policy have not put the public at ease, the KMT said.
Concerned about food safety, people have rushed to buy domestic pork, causing large price fluctuations, it said.
The KMT is pushing for a national referendum that would ask voters if the government should impose a complete ban on the importation of meat, offal and related products from pigs fed with ractopamine.
The petition has collected more than 180,000 signatures, Wang said, adding that it hopes to collect more than 300,000 signatures by the end of this month.
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