October 9, 2023

 

Taiwan rejects suggestion subsidies for pork imports behind domestic pork's lower market share

 

 

Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) denied that the subsidies it provides for imported pork are to be blamed for the falling market share of domestic pork in the country, according to a statement issued on October 8.

 

The statement was issued in response to remarks by Kuomintang presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, who claimed that the ministry's import-favoring policy has caused the market share of domestic pork to drop to 80%, the ministry said.

 

The subsidies for imported pork are paid to stabilise the domestic pork market, the ministry added, noting that the falling market share has been caused by efforts to transform the local pig farming industry and rising international raw material prices. This refers to a government programme encouraging owners of domestic hog farms to upgrade their facilities from 2021 to 2024 that received tens of billions of Taiwan dollars in funding.

 

Nearly 3,000 hog farms have upgraded their equipment and farms, according to the ministry.

 

Farmers keep fewer hogs during these upgrades, the ministry said, adding there is over 5,000 metric tonnes less of living hogs in Taiwan this year than the same period last year.

 

Moreover, the price of pork is vulnerable to international raw material prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war over the past two years, the ministry said.

 

As such, the price of imported pork has surged since March, with 11,059 metric tonnes less pork imported from January to March — a 37% drop — than in the same period of the preceding year.

 

As a result, there has been a major increase in the price of living hogs on the domestic market since April, the ministry explained.

 

To stabilise the pork price in Taiwan, the ministry asked the National Animal Industry Foundation to implement a subsidy programme for pork importers from May to September.

 

During the five-month programme, pork importers received a subsidy of NT$6 (US$0.19) per kilogramme of pork, with the total amount not surpassing 50,000 metric tonnes, the MOA said.

 

Meanwhile, supplying domestic pork to the local market was also prioritised, it noted.

 

- CNA