Taiwan is aiming to export fresh pork to Japan and processed pork products to the US, after becoming the only country in Asia free of African swine fever, classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), an agricultural official said yesterday.
Taiwan was a major supplier of fresh pork to Japan until a severe FMD outbreak in March 1997 drastically curtailed its exports.
Photo: Taipei Times
In 2020, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) officially recognized Taiwan as free of FMD without vaccination, paving the way for the resumption of fresh pork exports.
Taiwan resumed fresh pork exports to the Philippines in September 2023, the first shipment in more than two decades. It then resumed fresh pork exports to Singapore earlier this year, following a 15-year hiatus.
Taiwan was recognized as free of ASF last year and declared free of classical swine fever in May this year, making it the only country in Asia free of all three major swine diseases. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) views this milestone as a golden opportunity to showcase the quality of Taiwanese pork on the global stage.
With Taiwan now free of all three major swine diseases, pork export negotiations are more favorable, and Japan is expected to be the next key market for fresh pork, said Hung Hsiao-chun (洪曉君), deputy head of the MOA's Department of International Affairs and incoming head of the agricultural division at Taiwan's US representative office.
Processed pork products — frozen, dried, or vacuum-packed after high-temperature treatment — have longer shelf lives and generally face fewer import hurdles than fresh pork, giving them broader export potential, Hung told CNA by telephone.
According to Hung, Taiwan's processed meats are already exported to Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, but not yet to the US or Europe.
The MOA believes being free of swine diseases helps Taiwan's pork exports. However, there are still concerns over having enough pigs and maintaining a steady supply.
Yang Min-jui (楊旻叡), an executive at Sings Kout Meat in Pingtung County, said that pork prices in Taiwan are currently high and not very competitive. There are not enough pigs to meet domestic demand, let alone for steady exports, he added.
Yang said reopening pork exports to Japan would benefit both countries, but the government must first stabilize prices and increase pig production to improve export competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Lin Jeng-shiang (林正祥), director-general of the Taiwan Frozen Food Processors Association, pointed out that Taiwan's pig population currently meets about 90 percent of domestic demand, with the rest covered by imports.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the