After multiple negotiations and field visits, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has reached a bilateral agreement with both Australia and New Zealand on organic equivalency, which were signed on Jan. 23 and Feb. 26 respectively. The cooperation is expected to boost organic produce trade and agricultural exchanges between Taiwan and the aforementioned countries. As a follow-up, the COA plans to organize Taiwanese organic produce promotional events in these two countries’ local supermarkets with the objective of helping Taiwanese producers to access new export opportunities.

The COA stated that following the signing of Taiwan-Japan memorandum on equivalency of organic foods certification on October 30, 2019, Taiwan has also inked bilateral agreement with both Australia and New Zealand on organic equivalency at the beginning of 2020. The COA is confident that the bilateral organic trade partnership with both countries will strengthen after arrangements of organic equivalency are reached. Furthermore, negotiation channels with both countries’ relevant authorities can be established within the framework of the agreements, thus boosting agricultural cooperation and exchange between the parties.

The COA pointed out that the signing of the said arrangements signifies that both Australia and New Zealand recognize Taiwan’s organic certification system and have confidence in Taiwan’s organic agricultural products. Negotiations of similar agreements with the United States and Canada are currently underway. The COA is also planning Taiwanese organic produce overseas marketing campaigns such as participating in large-scale international organic trade shows or organizing promotional events with local supermarket retail chains. The goal is to educate local consumers on how to recognize Taiwan’s organic produce certificate label and encourage them to purchase organic products from Taiwan, which in turn will help Taiwanese organic producers gain access to new export opportunities.