To stabilize the supply of agri-products, the COA conducts surveys and forecasts on the production of plant and animal products at regular intervals, improves trading information systems on agri-products, and collects market information from within and outside the country. The collated data is used to set up preventive measures as part of the supply chain forecasting system to avert drastic price changes and to maintain the proper order of supply and demand. In 2007, the COA used the import-damage relief funds to promote the sales of bananas, oranges, cabbage, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, onions, heading Chinese cabbage and peanuts during a temporary supply-demand imbalance. Similar measures were also applied to stabilize prices for pigs, goats, native chickens, broilers, ducks and eel.
To strengthen the supply chain forecasting system, the COA implemented a production-declaration scheme and a price-stabilizing mechanism for any domestic agri-product whose price drops below 5 percent of its direct cost. Based on the precise information obtained, these schemes and mechanisms are applied to sensitive agri-products to uphold the supply-demand balance, to stabilize their prices, and to protect the agri-producers’ benefits. Under the forecasting system, three separate sets of protocols are designed for the producers to register the amounts of agri-products they plan to produce. The products selected include bananas, oranges, papayas, pineapples, garlic, onions, and peanuts; milkfishes, Taiwan tilapia, eels, grouper, sea perch, and hard clams; and pigs, broilers, native chickens, and eggs. The system is subject to yearly adjustment in response to the prevailing supply and demand situation; other commodities will be included when it is deemed necessary.
