The Honduran government is seeking to re-engage with the Taiwanese market, Honduran Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina said on Monday, as one of the Central American nation’s major exports has plummeted since it cut ties with Taiwan.
Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing.
Honduras hoped to benefit from a free-trade agreement with China, but found that Beijing instead dumped goods into Honduras, resulting in a serious bilateral trade imbalance, reports have said.
Photo: Reuters
In an exclusive interview with the Honduran media Radio America, Reina said that due to the delay in opening the Chinese market, Honduras is hoping to re-enter the Taiwanese market to save its white shrimp industry.
After losing the Taiwanese market, the Honduran white shrimp industry, a major export for the Central American nation, is on the verge of collapse, the report said.
Honduras is also hoping to cooperate with South Korea to obtain the appropriate import health permits, Reina said.
Before March 2023, Honduras and Taiwan had more than 80 years of diplomatic relations.
Through military, educational and economic cooperation, Taiwan not only supported Honduran agriculture and offered technological assistance, but was also the primary market for Honduran white shrimp, the report said.
In 2022, nearly 40 percent of Honduran white shrimp exports went to Taiwan, it said.
According to data from National Association of Honduran Aquaculturists (ANDAH), just two years after Honduras cut ties with Taiwan, its white shrimp exports have plummeted 67 percent, leaving more than 14,000 workers unemployed.
According to the report, China promised to purchase large amounts of Honduran white shrimp when the two countries established diplomatic relations, but two years later, that promise is yet to be fulfilled.
When Chinese businesses visited Honduras in June last year to inspect shrimp farms, they announced they would purchase 250 containers of white shrimp, the report said.
However, they only purchased one container in the end, causing ANDAH to call China “rude and disgusting,” it said.
According to data from the Central Bank of Honduras, Honduran exports to China last year amounted to US$35.9 million, while Chinese exports to Honduras increased to US$2.55 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of more than US$2.5 billion, Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported.
Additional reporting by CNA
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