Taiwan and Canada have signed letters for an organic equivalence arrangement that took effect on May 30, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei said on Facebook yesterday.
The letters were signed and exchanged between Lyzette Lamondin, executive director of food safety and consumer protection for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Agriculture and Food Agency Director-General Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) on May 27, it said.
According to an overview posted on the official Web site of the Government of Canada, “the recognitions apply to agricultural products of plant origin, and processed foods of plant origin, livestock and livestock products, as well as aquaculture products grown or produced in each jurisdiction or whose final processing or packaging occurs within each jurisdiction.”
The accord allows organic products certified in Taiwan or Canada to be sold as organic in either market.
Information from the Agriculture and Food Agency shows that Canada is Taiwan’s second-largest source of imports for organic products, after the US.
On Thursday last week, Taiwan and the US also signed an organic equivalence arrangement, which according to the Agriculture and Food Agency, was the fifth such deal reached, after Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
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