The Council of Agriculture said it is developing isotope distinguishment technology, which, combined with “big data,” would differentiate the production location of dairy products.
The plan was made due to concerns about the impending removal of tariffs for Taiwanese imports of New Zealand beef, lamb and dairy products — as a result of the Agreement Between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) — would significantly affect domestic dairy and meat markets, the council said.
ANZTEC, signed in 2013, removed tariffs on a set amount of liquid dairy products — 5,500 tonnes as of 2013 — and adds a charge of NT$14 for every kilogram exceeding that amount.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
It was agreed that the allocated amount of tariff-free products would increase by 1,500 tonnes every three years until 2025, when quotas would be removed.
As of last month, Taiwan has imported 103,562 tonnes of dairy products, a 9.2 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the council said.
It also said it plans to encourage domestic dairy quality, match domestic dairy production to market needs and step up measures to distinguish local and imported dairy products.
Over the past decade, domestic dairy production has increased from 320,000 tonnes to 430,000 tonnes, the council said.
Due to high domestic demand, dairy farmers have been known to produce amounts exceeding the quota, and contracted processing companies have been more than willing to purchase the excess, it said.
However, as the domestic dairy market is becoming saturated and the nation’s economic environment is causing public spending to turn conservative, processing companies are demanding that dairy producers observe the output quotas.
There are standard certifications for milk, but they could be improved to differentiate local and imported dairy products, the council said, adding that it is developing a system to do so.
The council said that the system, which has been trialed for two years, has a 90 percent accuracy rate in differentiating the origin country of dairy products, and it can also determine whether milk is fresh or made from powder.
The system is almost complete, and can be used to inspect pork and chicken meat to identify the country of origin, it said, adding that Taiwan would provide product origin information on packaging.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS