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.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators