The Taiwan meat type chicken industry concentrates on two types of broiler farmers: white feathered broilers and colored broilers. The annual output volume of white-feathered broilers is approximately 180 million, and that of colored broilers totals 175 million. Daily egg production ranges from 80,000 to 85,000 crates, each weighing 12kg and containing approximately 200 eggs. In other words, domestic egg production is completely self-sufficient. Most layer farms are concentrated in the central and southern parts of Taiwan. Due to the advancement in production technology and the increase in market demand, poultry farming has witnessed rapid growth over the past two decades. According to statistics, the output value of the poultry industry in 2000 reached NT$ 42.6 billion, comprising of NT$ 26.5 billion worth of broilers, NT$ 10.4 billions of eggs and NT$ 5.7 of domestic waterfowls.

Recent Initiatives and Achievements

1. Supported poultry production and marketing training classes to help enhance their organizations and functions and thus improve industrial autonomy.
2. Established a production and marketing information dissemination and pre-warning system for relevant industries to allow producers to formulate viable production plans.
3. Established an egg washing, grading, packaging and chilling system to enhance egg quality.
4. Promoted shared-brand labeling for domestic poultry products and implemented promotional activities to raise the image and market share of poultry meat and egg products.
5. Established a domestic poultry certification system and administered poultry meat and egg product inspections to ensure safety of relevant products for domestic consumers.
6. Reinforced hygiene control at poultry farms and administered chicken serum antibody and sulfa drug residue tests, as well as microorganism counting in fluff test on breeder farms.
7. Established rendering facilities at poultry dressing plants to dipose process wastes and by-products such as feathers, meat bones, and inedible chicken parts as an effort to protect the environment and uplift the image of the industry.
8. Organized a Poultry Dressing Plant Hygiene Inspection and Advisory Task Force to conduct relevant training for vet inspectors and health supervisors at local dressing plants.
9. Implemented an industrial restructuring program, under which 684 broiler farms have been granted approval and completed demolition of the farm facilities. The closure of these farms has helped develop a better management and disease prevention system and thus enhance the overall industrial competitiveness.

Future Plans and Tasks

1. A. Improve breeding farm facilities and promote the ISO certification system for local farms to ensure a quality, disease-free breeder chick hatching and supplying system.
2. Consolidate feeds, poultry farming, dressing, and marketing industries to form a fully integrated poultry alliance with a strong edge to compete globally.
3. Continue to make public investments for poultry industry, such as providing incentives for the establishment of feather and by-products rendering plants and liquid egg facilities.
4. Set annual yield targets to guide farmers in formulating production plans, and develop a global information system on poultry production and marketing and a pre-warning system to allow farmers to refine their production plans and thus stabilize market prices.
5. Promote grade-based price differentiation system, assist with the improvement of egg distribution and grading equipment, and promote automated shell egg washing, grading, and packaging to facilitate branding and enhance product quality.
6. Establish domestic poultry brands to help create a different market segment from imports.
7. Secure and enlarge market demand, survey market trends at home and abroad, develop processed products, transform consumption patterns and promote diverse diet to boost poultry consumption.