Taipei: Taiwan’s dairy sector remains confident about its competitiveness despite the arrival of tariff-free U.S. liquid milk under a newly signed Taiwan-U.S. trade agreement, industry and government representatives said. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih highlighted that in Taiwan’s liquid milk market, where locally produced milk commands an 88.6 percent share, the United States’ main competitor will be New Zealand. Tariffs on New Zealand dairy products were removed in January 2025 under a bilateral free trade pact between Taipei and Wellington.

According to Focus Taiwan, Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) data showed Taiwan imported 239,153 tons of dairy products in 2025, of which New Zealand supplied 119,972 tons, nearly half. The U.S. ranked second with 47,118 tons. Chen stated that coordinated efforts between the government and industry have helped Taiwan withstand international competition. Local dairy farmers are currently seeing improved profitability, supported by stable annual production of about 430,000 tons and steady improvements in quality.

While imported milk generally has stronger price competitiveness, Chen noted that Taiwanese law reserves the label “fresh milk” exclusively for domestically produced milk, a term strongly favored by consumers. The MOA plans to prohibit imported milk from being labeled as fresh milk starting in July, Chen said.