The nation has 2.59 million tonnes of corn stockpiled and has ordered an additional 2.26 million tonnes so that supplies for animal feed are sufficient over the next seven months, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said on Friday.
The additional order comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine drives up costs of gas, transportation and other products internationally, with Taiwan being heavily reliant on imports of field corn, the council said.
Taiwan imported an annual average of 4.12 million tonnes of field corn over the past five years, or an average of 343,000 tonnes per month, the council said, citing Customs Administration data.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Over the past five years, Taiwan has only imported field corn from Ukraine three times, with no record of Russian imports, it added.
The council said that it has also asked Taiwan Sugar Corp for space to store up to 25,000 tonnes of goods so that the government has sufficient storage for corn distribution, adding that efforts to construct storage capable of holding 60,000 tonnes of corn are under way.
Although domestic production of field corn remains steady, the council has urged farmers to work together and diversify their sources, to lower overhead costs in obtaining field corn and minimize the risk of a shortage of corn.
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