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Council of Agriculture proposes a 10-billion pig farming fund; association demands stable prices, market support, and dedicated use of the funds

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Council of Agriculture dangles a 10-billion fund; pig farming association demands stable prices, market support, and dedicated use of the funds

The government's hasty announcement opening imports of ractopamine-containing American pork caused an uproar in the domestic pig farming industry, which fears an impact on local pork. The Council of Agriculture has recently been frequently engaging with pig farmers around the country, and today (the 9th) invited pig farming associations from across the country to hold a symposium to address their concerns. Pig farmers stressed that this is "absolutely not accepting the government's pat on the head," and emphasized that if the government fails to do a good job on origin labeling and stabilizing pig prices, "we will still protest if we have to."

Another key point of the meeting was how to use the government's planned 10-billion pig farming fund. Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said the 10 billion has been planned across eight major directions and will be allocated year by year over four years to promote upgrading of the pig farming industry, and will be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval before the end of the year.

Pig farming association will not accept the government's pat on the head; the hardline faction threatens to protest, the moderate faction says: first hear what the officials have to say

The Republic of China Pig Farming Association is the umbrella body for county and city pig farming associations. This morning, before the formal symposium with the Council of Agriculture, it held a closed-door discussion first, and internal opinions remained divided. It is understood that the association is split into a hardline faction and a moderate faction. The hardline faction still insists on protesting and continuing to oppose imports of ractopamine-containing American pork, while the moderate faction believes that since the president has already announced passage by executive order, priority should be given to discussing supporting measures.

The hardline faction believes that no matter what, the association should express clear opposition, otherwise how can pig farmers' rights be ensured in the future, and threatens that "we will protest if we have to." However, Lin Cheng-te, the standing supervisor attending on behalf of the association's chairperson, said, "What pig farmers care about most is how to stabilize pig prices and regulate supply and demand. Since the government has shown sincerity, the association will first come and listen. But meeting with the government absolutely does not mean the pig farming association accepts the government's pat on the head."

 

This closed-door symposium between association officials and the Council of Agriculture was chaired by Lin Tsung-hsien, chairman of the Central Animal Industry Association, and deliberately excluded the media, which only made the atmosphere seem more bizarre. Photo by Lin Chi-yang

 

Council of Agriculture: the 10-billion fund aims to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic pigs, not only for pig farmers but also for consumers

How exactly will the "10-billion fund" be allocated? Does it need review by the Legislative Yuan? Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said, "The 10-billion fund is not the establishment of a new fund," and does not need to go through the Legislative Yuan. Instead, it is a 10-billion plan with budgets compiled year by year, approved by the Executive Yuan for dedicated use, so that pig farmers can be convinced. The Council of Agriculture will propose the "10-billion fund" plan before the end of the year and send it to the Executive Yuan for approval, with plans to begin using it next year, allocating it year by year over four years.

Chen Chi-chung stressed that the 10-billion fund is not only for pig farmers but also for consumers, hoping to make the pork market healthier, strengthen the market competitiveness of Taiwan's domestic pigs, and expand sales abroad. The details will be continuously discussed by the Council of Agriculture's Department of Animal Industry, the Central Animal Industry Association, and pig farming associations together. The eight specific measures initially drafted by the Council of Agriculture include: stabilizing pig farmers' income, pig mortality insurance, expanding exports, upgrading cold chain at slaughterhouses, modernizing pig farms, increasing inspection capacity for imported meat, rewarding restaurants that label their use of domestic pork, and integrated marketing of domestic pork.

Domestic pig label to be designed and announced by the end of the month; restaurant operators can begin applying in November

As for origin labeling, which the pig farming industry cares about most, besides the Council of Agriculture it also involves the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The pig farming association reached a consensus demanding that officials provide specific written commitments through inter-ministerial consultations.

Chen Chi-chung said that an inter-ministerial meeting will be held with the Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to discuss concrete measures such as product labels and food content labeling to strengthen the recognizability of domestic pigs. "The design and production of the Taiwan domestic pig label has already begun, and we will explain it to the public as soon as possible. It will be announced before the end of the month, will begin public notice next month, and in November we will begin accepting applications from restaurant operators for trial implementation, so that the Taiwan domestic pig label can be concretely put into operation." He stressed that all association chairpersons believe Taiwan pigs are competitive, and that as long as the label is clearly recognizable, he believes in the competitiveness of domestic pigs.

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