Agricultural export value to China this year has hit a new low of 9.1 percent of total agricultural exports, Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said on Tuesday, following Beijing’s ban on Taiwanese mangoes.
China on Monday announced a suspension of mango imports from Taiwan, “once again flouting international norms” by failing to engage in scientific dialogue, Chen wrote on Facebook.
However, the main markets for mango exports have in recent years shifted toward Japan, South Korea and other countries, exemplifying a general trend away from China, he said.
Photo: Lam Yik Fei, Bloomberg
Due to their over-reliance on one market, agricultural products have in recent years become a political tool used by Beijing to influence Taiwanese society, he wrote.
The Ministry of Agriculture has therefore been working to diversify to other markets, thereby reducing exporters’ exposure, Chen said.
The result has been a steady decline in export value bound for China, from 23.2 percent of the total in 2018, to 12.9 percent last year, he wrote.
A new record was set in the first seven months of this year, with only 9.1 percent of agricultural export value bound for China, he added.
China is now the fourth-largest market for the industry, surpassed by the US and Japan which account for 18.5 percent and 16.4 percent respectively, he said.
Fruit exports to China have fallen dramatically from a peak of 80.1 percent in 2019 to only 1.6 percent last year, while Japan now accounts for more than half, Chen said, adding that meeting Japan’s high quality standards would help Taiwan export to other markets.
As for mangoes, 11.6 percent were bound for China this year, compared with 47.6 percent in 2019, Chen said.
A total of 3,873 tonnes were exported in the first seven months, worth US$14.75 million, he said.
By value, Japan came in first with US$5.67 million imported (715 tonnes), followed by South Korea with US$3.84 million (628 tonnes), Hong Kong with US$3.03 million (1,458 tonnes) and then China with US$1.71 million (938 tonnes), he said.
Mangoes sold elsewhere also fetch up to four times more per kilogram than in China, selling for US$6.4 on average in South Korea and US$8.3 in Japan, he added.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS