June 25, 2009

Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said Wednesday (June 24) that there is no definite date yet as to when the Taiwanese market will be open to US beef as the government is still mulling considering how best to open the doors.

Yeh's remarks followed the confirmation of Jason Yuan, Taiwan's representative to the United States, the previous day that a delegation from the US Trade Representative office had talked with Taiwanese officials on the issue during a recent visit to Taiwan.

The two sides "engaged in delightful talks," Yuan said.

Harry Tseng, head of the Department of North American Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also expressed optimism over the timeline for market opening.

Taiwan embargoed US beef in 2003 when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) was diagnosed in Seattle.

The ban was lifted in April 2005 and allowed imports of de-boned US beef from cattle aged under 30 months, but the government re-imposed the ban two months later when a second BSE case was discovered in the US

In 2006, the DOH agreed to allow beef imports once again, limited to boneless beef from cattle younger than 30 months of age, produced from certified slaughterhouses and without high-risk items such as brains and spinal cords.

Asked about the risk of consuming US beef, Yeh admitted that the average lifetime risk of contracting BSE through eating boneless beef is one in 7.18 trillion - equivalent to the risk of being hit by lightning twice in a row.

But despite the trivial risk, Yeh said Taiwanese consumers are still hesitant to eat beef out of health concerns.

Over the past three years, US beef imports have been increased on-year. Presently, the US supplies 32 percent of Taiwan's beef, with the rest coming mainly from New Zealand and Australia.