China’s decision to suspend imports of grouper from Taiwan has violated international trade rules, and Taiwan may raise the issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Council of Agriculture (COA) chief Chen Chi-chung (???) said Saturday.
On Friday, China’s General Administration of Customs announced without warning it would suspend grouper imports from Taiwan starting June 13, citing several findings of prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline in grouper imports since last December, Chen said.
He argued that China’s move did not comply with international trade rules because when an issue like this occurs, the standard procedure is to return or destroy the problematic shipments instead of making them a general case.
China has reacted in similar fashion in the past when it discovered problems with agricultural imports, including the suspension of Thai longan and the banning of imports of pineapples, wax apples and sugar apples from Taiwan last year.
In those cases, Taiwan questioned China’s findings, and Chen on Saturday tried to reassure consumers over the quality of Taiwanese grouper, saying there were no findings of excessive level of drugs in the fish in 2019 and 2020.
Although China notified the COA last year that it had found excessive drug residues in grouper imported from two Taiwanese fish farms, the COA conducted tests later indicating that the products were safe, Chen said.
The COA forwarded its findings to China, but it never responded, he said.
Chen said the COA will provide more scientific evidence to China through existing bilateral channels, but it will not rule out submitting its concerns to the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee (SPS Committee) under the WTO if China failed to provide an official explanation for the suspension.
The WTO committee oversees the implementation of the “Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,” also known as the SPS agreement, and provides a forum for discussion on animal and plant health and food safety measures affecting trade.
Chen said the COA will launch contingency measures to help grouper farmers hurt by the Chinese ban sell their product in both domestic and foreign markets, including setting up cold chain logistics to help farmers sell frozen grouper to markets in the West.
China’s market was not as important for Taiwanese grouper farmers in 2021 as before, however, with China buying 6,000 metric tons of the fish in 2021, down from more than 10,000 metric tons in previous years, according to Chen.
Still, China accounted for 91 percent of Taiwan’s grouper exports last year, with the rest going to Hong Kong, the U.S., Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
In 2021, Taiwan exported 6,681 metric tons of grouper, worth NT$1.68 billion (US$57.3 million), out of a total of 16,940 metric tons raised around Taiwan, COA data showed.
In response to Saturday’s development, fish farmers who were accused last year of exporting subpar grouper expressed frustration.
One of them, Wang Chi-yi (???) in Pingtung County, said there are too many uncertainties in the Chinese market, and he had given up raising grouper and switched to growing mangrove red snappers for the domestic market.
Chen said China’s strategy has been to target Taiwanese products that are relatively dependent on the Chinese market, but Taiwan has tried to help farmers diversify their markets.
In 2021, only 45 percent of Taiwan’s fruit exports went to China, compared to over 80 percent in previous years, he said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel