July 25, 2007

Taiwan would not expand corn and soy imports from China

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has decided not to expand its grain imports from China out of concern for quality issues.

Grains such as soy and corn would not see any increase but the regular shipments would continue, the ministry said. 

The decision was part of an MOEA meeting to stem inflation.

The MOEA also said it would implement measures to prevent businessmen from manipulating prices of commodities. .

The agency also worked out four strategies for its raw material demand-supply coordination team to stabilize recent consumer price fluctuations.

The strategies include ensuring sufficient supplies, preventing market rigging, assisting local businesses in improving production processes, and encouraging importers to pool shipments to reduce costs, the officials said.

However, there has been criticisms that market intervention by the government may cause bigger problems for the country in the long run.