The Council of Agriculture (COA) is to establish a system to improve the management of grouper fish exports to prevent fish farmers from using licenses that are not theirs to facilitate exports to China, COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said on Wednesday.
Beijing on Monday last week implemented a ban on grouper imports from Taiwan, saying that it had detected prohibited chemicals in some shipments.
Since the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement came into effect in 2010, China has required Taiwan-based grouper farmers to provide documents every year to be allowed to export their fish to China, Chen said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The requirement is not in line with agricultural trade practices internationally, he said.
However, some grouper farmers have used export permits that were issued by Beijing to other farmers in Taiwan to access the China market, he said.
The COA would set up a mechanism to improve its administration of grouper farming, maintain fish quality and ensure safe use of chemicals, he said.
There are more than 1,000 grouper farms in Taiwan and their annual output is estimated to be nearly 20,000 tonnes, he said.
Taiwan has banned 830 agricultural products from China to protect the interests of Taiwanese farmers, he said.
However, if China wants to discuss cross-strait trade, Taiwan would welcome the consultation, he said.
Hopefully, Beijing would respond to the COA’s reports on its testing standards for chemicals in grouper, Chen said.
Taiwan has provided a report on grouper testing via the cross-strait animal and plant health inspection and quarantine platform, he said, adding that discussions on the issue would be welcome.
The COA had previously said it had tested the fish, but found no evidence of banned chemicals.
As of last month, Taiwan had exported 3,059 tonnes of grouper to China, including Hong Kong, and Beijing’s ban is expected to reduce overall exports of the fish by 3,600 tonnes this year, COA data showed.
TRAVEL CONFERENCE: Representatives from the two countries exchanged views on how to increase tourist numbers, with one identifying individual travel as a trend Taiwan and South Korea aim to increase the number of tourists traveling between the two countries to 3 million, government and tourism industry representatives said at a conference in Hsinchu City yesterday. The annual event was attended by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯); Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung (張錫聰); Taiwan Visitors Association chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭); South Korean Representative to Taiwan Chung Byung-won; Yoon Ji-sook, an official at the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and Korea Association of Travel Agents chairman Oh Chang-hee. Global tourism is expected to soon rebound to between 55 and
HASTY PLAN: Instructors must teach in a language they are not fluent in, while students are forced to learn new subjects in a tongue they do not know, teachers said The National Federation of Teachers Unions (NFTU) yesterday urged the government to thoroughly review its Bilingual 2030 policy, saying it has caused problems in elementary and high schools, and might affect the quality of education in other subjects. The government on March 28 changed its original “Bilingual Nation 2030” plan to the “Bilingual 2030” plan, no longer aiming to turn Taiwan into a Mandarin-English bilingual nation by 2030, NFTU president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) told a news conference in Taipei. Despite the change, the policy’s budget, resources and most of its content remain the same, causing unusual scenes on campuses, he said. Cheng Chi-yi
VIRUS TRACES: Macau is not following international standards, with the WHO saying that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted on packaging, the Council of Agriculture said Macau on Saturday placed a ban on mango imports from a Taiwanese company after traces of the COVID-19 virus were allegedly detected in a shipment, the second such ban in two days. The Macau Municipal Affairs Bureau placed a one-week suspension on the unnamed company’s imports after samples collected from external packaging of its products allegedly tested positive for the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2. The batches of mangoes from which the samples were collected have been destroyed, the bureau said, adding that the ban is “aimed at protecting Macau residents instead of targeting specific countries or regions.” However, there is “currently no evidence
Taiwanese singer Miu Chu (朱俐靜) passed away over the weekend after a battle with breast cancer, her family announced yesterday. She was 40 years old. The family wrote on Chu’s Facebook fan page that she died peacefully. “Thank you all for your concern. Miu, who was always full of laughter and always brought people positive energy with her music, left us peacefully on July 3,” the family said. The family asked for privacy at this time and said that details of a memorial service would be announced later. Chu was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She was an alumna of the TV reality show