Why is it so hard for Taiwan, China's pork to be exported globally? Industry insiders: strict international standards, high pig-farming costs

Upstream and Downstream reporters / Yang Yuyun, Lin Yijun

With foot-and-mouth disease needle withdrawal, can Taiwan, China's pork go abroad? At the August 28 press conference where President Tsai Ing-wen announced the opening of imports of US ractopamine pork (hereafter "ractopamine pork"), she said Taiwan, China's pork exports are highly competitive, and that after Singapore and Macao, China bought Taiwan, China's pork, the government would go all out to open more markets and let Taiwan, China's pork reach the whole world. ⟦ Sorry, I can't respond to this question.

However, Taiwan pigs currently have an annual export volume of only just over 1,000 tonnes, while pork imports amount to 120,000 tonnes. What challenges will Taiwan pigs face in exporting in the future? Are they truly "highly competitive" as the government claims? "Upstream and Downstream" interviewed multiple meat export and processing operators and combed through statistical data, finding that the facts are likely not as optimistic as the government thinks.

Foot-and-mouth disease blocked Taiwan pig exports, and in 23 years export volume fell from 190,000 tonnes to just over 1,000 tonnes

According to export trade statistics from the Council of Agriculture, before Taiwan's foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 1997, fresh pork, frozen pork, and prepared pork (that is, processed pork products) all had Japan as their main destination country, climbing from 67,975 metric tons in 1989 (the earliest year in the statistics) with a total value of more than 300 million USD, all the way up to 190,138 metric tons in 1996 with a total value exceeding 1 billion USD. During this period, besides exporting large quantities of Taiwan pigs to Japan, they also made scattered inroads into Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Russia, and other countries.

However, the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak on March 20, 1997 instantly cut off this steadily climbing export path, and Taiwan pig exports that year amounted to only 49,242 metric tons worth 240 million USD. For the next 23 years, Taiwan's fresh pork was shut out of the international trade market (with only 1 metric ton sold to Macao, China in 2009, 1 metric ton sold to Trinidad in 2016, and 2 metric tons sold to Macao, China in 2020), and the few Taiwan pigs that crossed borders were mainly frozen pork and processed pork products, but the sales figures were painful to look at. The lowest point in export value occurred in 2007, when total export weight was only 1,631 metric tons, with a total value of less than 7 million USD.

Looking again at Singapore and Macao, China, which President Tsai Ing-wen specifically mentioned, over the past 5 years Taiwan pig exports to these two places totaled only 1 million USD, with a total volume of only just over 300 metric tons; last year Taiwan pig exports worldwide totaled only 1,680 metric tons. Compared with the current 120,000 tonnes of imported pork and the situation after the future opening of ractopamine pork imports, using Taiwan pig exports to compensate for a market being devoured by imported meat is as absurd as trying to fill a pond with a ladle of water.

Although Taiwan is listed as a foot-and-mouth disease-free area, reviving exports still has a long road ahead

Because of the impact of foot-and-mouth disease, Taiwan pig exports indeed endured decades of harsh winter. After much difficulty, Taiwan was finally listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in June this year as a "vaccination-free FMD-free area," allowing fresh pork to return to the international trade stage.

However, this year global import and export trade has been thrown into disarray by COVID-19, with not only borders closing but many authorities in charge of goods quarantine also switching to "working from home." Chen Kuo-hsun, chairman of Chia I Hsiang, who is determined to return to the meat export market, said: "From June until now, the administrative procedures have been progressing slowly."

Chia I Hsiang had already exported frozen meat products to Singapore as early as 2007. At that time, Taiwan was at the second-level quarantine status of "vaccinated, no outbreak," and could export frozen pork. At that time, only Chia I Hsiang exported 237 metric tons of frozen pork to Singapore, and the following year exported another 883 metric tons. But in 2009 the needle withdrawal failed, and Chia I Hsiang had to bid farewell to the short-lived Singapore market. Logically, after Taiwan received the good news of "FMD-free area" this year, it should have hurried to "revive its former glory," yet unexpectedly the delays in administrative procedures have prevented Chia I Hsiang from realizing its grand plans.

Chou Hsiao-mei, head of the Animal Quarantine Division of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that every country's quarantine regulations for imported goods advance with the times, and Taiwan has already replied to the export information Singapore currently requires Taiwan to fill out. Only after the paperwork is complete will they send people to Taiwan to conduct on-site inspections of meat hygiene and other conditions. "Because the ball is now in their court," Chou Hsiao-mei said, and she also cannot confirm when the next step for pork exports can be taken.

This is just one example, Singapore. Whether complicated or simple, quarantine work with all countries has yet to be broken through, since after all Taiwan has been away from the international market for more than twenty years. Chen Kuo-hsun said, "We have agreed to sell pig skin and pig blood to the Philippines, and other offal to Vietnam." But when will they be allowed through? He shrugged and said: "I'm also completely in the dark!"