Half of Taiwan's peanut butter is actually imported from China; 90% of peanut soup is not made from domestic ingredients; farmers demand stricter import controls

Taiwan's peanuts, with their rich aroma and delicate, fresh sweetness, are suitable for making oil, processing into cakes, pastries and sweet soups, or cooking in dishes. Peanut powder is also indispensable in pig's blood cake and spring rolls, making peanuts an important coarse grain crop in Taiwan.

Although our country adopts a "tariff quota" to control imports for the peanut industry, in recent years processing plants have imported large quantities of "shelled and skinless peanut slices" (mostly used for peanut soup), and the volume of imported peanut butter and peanut candy has also risen year after year, with a market share as high as 70%. In addition, although our country prohibits the import of raw peanuts from China, once they are processed they are no longer subject to this restriction. Last year, imports of Chinese peanut butter reached 1,609 metric tons, ranking first among imports, while snacks such as spicy peanuts have pushed straight in, squeezing the survival space of domestic peanuts.

In response, the National Peanut Association suggests that officials should amend the current import control measures for peanut products, raise import tariffs on peanut butter and peanut candy, and at the same time increase the proportion of border and market spot inspections, so as to truly stabilize farmers' income and also safeguard consumer food safety.

Peanut import regulations: quota of 5,235 metric tons, avoiding the domestic production period

Since Taiwan, China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1992, the agricultural market has moved toward trade liberalization. However, because the peanut crop is highly sensitive, our country protects peanuts through four major categories using a tariff quota method (Note 1); the current peanut tariff quota volume is 5,235 metric tons (tax rate 25%). This year's (2019) peanut import period has also been adjusted to only two periods, January 1 to May 31 and August 1 to October 31, deliberately avoiding the domestic production period (Note 2).

In addition, Taiwan, China prohibits the import of Chinese peanuts. Neither shelled nor in-shell peanuts are permitted, thereby protecting our country's peanut industry.

Large quantities of skinless peanut slices are imported; 90% of peanut soup is not made from domestic ingredients