The dairy sector remains confident about its competitiveness, despite the arrival of tariff-free US milk under a newly signed Taiwan-US trade agreement, industry and government representatives said yesterday.
Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said in Taiwan’s milk market, where locally produced milk commands an 88.6 percent share, the US’ main competitor would be New Zealand.
Tariffs on New Zealand dairy products were removed in January last year under a bilateral free trade pact.
Photo: Taipei Times
Ministry of Agriculture data showed that Taiwan imported 239,153 tonnes of dairy products last year, of which New Zealand supplied nearly half at 119,972 tonnes.
The US ranked second with 47,118 tonnes, the data showed.
Chen said coordinated efforts between the government and industry have helped Taiwan withstand international competition.
Local dairy farmers are seeing improved profitability, supported by stable annual production of about 430,000 tonnes and steady improvements in quality, he said.
While imported milk generally has stronger price competitiveness, Chen said the law reserves the label “fresh milk” exclusively for domestically produced milk, a term strongly favored by consumers.
The ministry plans to prohibit imported milk from being labeled as fresh milk starting in July, he said.
Dairy Association of Taiwan secretary-general Fang Ching-chuan (方清泉) said US milk is unlikely to make major inroads into Taiwanese households, because it is typically sold in large containers, which do not suit Taiwan’s predominantly small households.
US exporters last year found that US milk has difficulty competing with New Zealand’s frozen concentrated milk, Fang said.
New Zealand’s frozen milk blocks cost NT$100 per liter and could be reconstituted to four times the volume, meaning the final cost is only NT$25 per liter, Fang said.
In contrast, US milk costs about NT$70 per liter and remains more expensive even with lower tariffs, Fang added.
Rather than focusing on price, the key issue is how to create value-added advantages, Taiwan Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion chairman Paul Wu (吳永強) said.
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,
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
RSS