China’s customs administration late on Monday announced bans on more than 100 Taiwanese food brands ahead of a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Beijing said that the blacklisted exporters — which include tea, honey and seafood producers — failed to renew their export registration and could therefore only sell their products until the end of this month.
The exporters may submit additional documents this month, Food and Drug Administration Director Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) said, adding that the agency would help them complete their registrations.
Photo: CNA
The bans might be politically motivated, as Taiwanese manufacturers were treated differently than those from other countries, she said.
Exporters from other countries can upload their registration documents online by June next year, while Taiwanese exporters had to submit the paperwork by June this year, she added.
She condemned the tight deadline, saying that “trade across the Taiwan Strait should not be conducted this way, as it needs time for communication.”
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said the agency would soon announce remedial measures to help the exporters.
Taiwanese companies have registered 3,200 food products for export to China, 2,066 of which have been marked as “import suspended,” including those from Kuo Yuan Ye Corp (郭元益), Yu Jan Shin (裕珍馨), Kuai Kuai Co (乖乖), Imei Foods Co (義美食品), Chiate Bakery (佳德) and Kuang Ta Hsiang Foodstuffs Co (廣達香).
The banned manufacturers mainly produce prepared and processed foods such as pastries, whose export value to China and Hong Kong made up only 0.1 percent, or US$650 million, of Taiwan’s total exports, Ministry of Finance data showed.
As exports of food and drinks to China had already fallen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ban would have a greater effect on fishing boats and seafood exporters, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said.
Taiwan last year exported US$44 million worth of pastries to China, but only US$10 million during the first half of this year, government data showed.
On the other hand, the total value of Taiwan’s seafood exports to China last year reached US$280 million and tea leaf exports reached US$31.67 million, while honey exports were only US$35,000.
Fifty-four fishing boats were asked to submit additional documents and the importation of more than 600 of their products was suspended, sources familiar with the issue said, adding that the bans prohibit the majority of Taiwanese seafood, tea and honey from reaching the Chinese market.
Beijing also requires fishing boats to submit Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification, Wu said.
Fisheries Agency Director-General Chang Chih-sheng (張致盛) said that affected vessels include deep-sea fishing boats and offshore fishing boats, adding that the agency would help them obtain HACCP certification if they plan to export to China.
China last year suspended imports of Taiwanese pineapples, custard apples and wax apples, and in June banned grouper imports, claiming that it found pests and excessive levels of prohibited chemicals in the products.
Additional reporting by Cheng Chi-fang,
Huang Pei-chun and CNA
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS