The overall situation in cross-strait agricultural exchange

A total of 505 groups (6,484 persons) from mainland China were invited to Taiwan for professional agricultural exchanges and inspection tours. Eleven projects related to cross-strait agricultural exchange were underway, including: “Collection and Analysis of Agricultural Data from Mainland China,” “A Study of the Current Situation with Regard to the Experimental Zone for Cross-Strait Agricultural Cooperation and the Impact on Agriculture in Taiwan,” and “Data Exchanges with the Mainland Chinese High-Seas Fishing Industry and Aquaculture Industry.” The COA also made adjustments, when appropriate, in the rules governing agricultural investments in mainland China, while at the same time we tightened up controls over domestic agricultural varieties and sensitive agricultural technologies. We continued to enforce bans on imports of 830 types of agroproducts from mainland China.

The COA promotes cross-strait consultation in agricultural trade and economics, and implements the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Respect of Fishing Crew Affairs” and the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection.” In June of 2010 Taiwan and mainland China signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) as well as an agreement on cooperation in protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs). Both of these will strengthen protection of IPRs for Taiwan’s agroproducts. In addition, following agricultural negotiations between the two sides, the mainland granted, with no further conditions, tariff-free preferential treatment for 18 types of farm and fisheries products from the ECFA early harvest list.

Ensuring intellectual property rights for agroproducts

A total of 145 applications for plant varieties were accepted. Of those 100 were approved and certification was issued. Also, new methods for  certification of nine plant varieties, including lycaste flowers, were introduced and announced.

The Cross-Strait Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Cooperation came into effect on September 12, and on November 22, the two sides simultaneously accepted claims on priority for plant varieties. These measures will be helpful for protecting IPRs on new plant varieties derived from R&D done in Taiwan and with rights claimed in mainland China.

Under the WTO/TRIPS framework, agreements have been reached with the EU (27 states), US, Japan, Australia, and other countries under which both sides agree to accept applications for plant variety IPRs from citizens or corporations of the other side, thereby providing protection overseas to plant varieties developed by people in Taiwan. Also, Taiwan and the EU mutually agreed to recognize each other’s moth orchid variety DUS (distinctness, uniformity, and stability) reports, thereby simplifying the application process, while the EU also agreed to cut fees for applications from Taiwan by 450 Euros per case.

Developing the mainland market for Taiwan agroproducts

With the signing of ECFA, of the 22 fruits that mainland China had already allowed to be imported from Taiwan, five (bananas, oranges, lemons, dragon fruit, and honeydews) were included in the early harvest list. Starting in 2011, tariffs on these will be reduced to zero over two or three years. With the additional impact of the reduction in transport times resulting from initiating direct flights and shipping across the Taiwan Strait, mainland China is gradually becoming a major export market for fruit from Taiwan.

As part of continuing efforts to encourage exports of agriultural and fisheries products to mainland China, the COA guided farmers and fishermen’s associations in participating in 18 product exhibitions, and guided 13 export firms in holding promotional activities for Taiwan fruits and vegetables in chain supermarkets in mainland China. The COA also successfully registered a trademark for “CAS premium agricultural products from Taiwan” and has been actively seeking registration of another for “GAP safe fruits and vegetables from Taiwan.”

The COA also led the way in creating a special production zone in Taiwan for Oncidium for collective exports to mainland China, and we joined flower expos in the mainland’s top cities. We also have been working to eliminate Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) obstacles to exports of plants, to win protection for plant variety IPRs, and to gain access to maritime portals for flower shipments (reducing transport costs and increasing export value over current air shipment). The First Cross-Strait Conference on Taiwan Premium Agricultural Products was held in 2010; persons from mainland China were invited to Taiwan to visit product exhibitions and negotiate trade deals. Finally, plans were made to create a permanent promotional center in Shanghai, in order to build up stable sales channels.

There were 263,000 metric tons of agroproducts exported from Taiwan to mainland China in 2010, valued at US$531 million, increases of 26.9% and 45.7% respectively over 2009. Looking only at exports to the mainland for the 33 agroproducts that have been identified as having the greatest future potential, the 2010 total was 12,100 metric tons, valued at US$57.15 million, increases of 184% and 576% respectively over 2009. Of these, because of the opening of 11 portals in mainland China to direct shipments of live grouper, grouper exports rose from only US$300 in 2009 to US$42.07 million. Fresh frozen fruit also benefited from direct transport links, with export value going from US$5.08 million in 2009 to US$10.22 million in 2010.

The cross-strait agreement on inspection of agroproducts

After signing the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection” on December 22, 2009, the interested cross-strait agencies established a regular contact mechanism. In 2010, 188 cases of inquiries, notifications, or contacts were submitted and related customs problems were solved in a timely fashion. After the Agreement signing, two cross-strait working conferences were held in April and September of 2010, where the two sides reached consensuses on many substantial issues, which they are now implementing and promoting.

Through the negotiating mechanism of the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection,” the mainland accepted applications from five establishments from Taiwan to export processed pork, poultry, and egg products to the mainland and started to review the applications for pears. The COA requested the mainland to set standards for agrochemical residue levels for 22 fruits exported to the mainland; before these are established, both sides agree to temporarily apply the international standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission or Taiwanese standards. With respect to a request from the Taiwan side for facilitating quarantine and inspection procedures, the mainland will take pineapples as a demonstration crop and designate staff to come to Taiwan to begin exploring faster inspection procedures.

The cross-strait agreement on fishing boat crews

In order to regulate the employment and management by Taiwan boat owners of crew members from mainland China, the two parties (hereinafter referred to as Taiwan and Mainland China) signed the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Respect of Fishing Crew Affairs.” This clearly states that Taiwan fishing boat owners must go through an approved employment broker in Taiwan and a mainland China management corporation when hiring mainland crew. The COA has accredited 19 brokers in Taiwan, and announced the names of 11 management companies identified by Mainland China. As of the end of 2010, fishing boat owners had hired 2,963 crew members through these intermediaries to help with operations outside of Taiwan’s territorial sea.