The Honduran government is seeking to re-engage with the Taiwanese market, Honduran Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina said on Monday, as one of the Central American nation’s major exports has plummeted since it cut ties with Taiwan.
Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing.
Honduras hoped to benefit from a free-trade agreement with China, but found that Beijing instead dumped goods into Honduras, resulting in a serious bilateral trade imbalance, reports have said.
Photo: Reuters
In an exclusive interview with the Honduran media Radio America, Reina said that due to the delay in opening the Chinese market, Honduras is hoping to re-enter the Taiwanese market to save its white shrimp industry.
After losing the Taiwanese market, the Honduran white shrimp industry, a major export for the Central American nation, is on the verge of collapse, the report said.
Honduras is also hoping to cooperate with South Korea to obtain the appropriate import health permits, Reina said.
Before March 2023, Honduras and Taiwan had more than 80 years of diplomatic relations.
Through military, educational and economic cooperation, Taiwan not only supported Honduran agriculture and offered technological assistance, but was also the primary market for Honduran white shrimp, the report said.
In 2022, nearly 40 percent of Honduran white shrimp exports went to Taiwan, it said.
According to data from National Association of Honduran Aquaculturists (ANDAH), just two years after Honduras cut ties with Taiwan, its white shrimp exports have plummeted 67 percent, leaving more than 14,000 workers unemployed.
According to the report, China promised to purchase large amounts of Honduran white shrimp when the two countries established diplomatic relations, but two years later, that promise is yet to be fulfilled.
When Chinese businesses visited Honduras in June last year to inspect shrimp farms, they announced they would purchase 250 containers of white shrimp, the report said.
However, they only purchased one container in the end, causing ANDAH to call China “rude and disgusting,” it said.
According to data from the Central Bank of Honduras, Honduran exports to China last year amounted to US$35.9 million, while Chinese exports to Honduras increased to US$2.55 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of more than US$2.5 billion, Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported.
Additional reporting by CNA
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS