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President promises to take care of local fruit farmers
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| President Chen Shui-bian, right, shakes hands with one of the winners of outstanding agricultural expert awards at the Presidential Office yesterday./central news agency |
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that Taiwan fruits will face stiff competition in the Chinese market once the mainland people's "fever" for them subsides.
President Chen made the remarks on Taiwan fruit exports to China while receiving 10 winners of outstanding agricultural expert awards at the Presidential Office.
The president noted that the government will take good care of Taiwan's farmers. He also suggested that they "look to the future," instead of focusing on short-term gains.
The farmers should upgrade their competitive edge and target those high income nations such as Singapore, Japan, the United States and those in Europe, the president said.
He said that although Taiwan fruits have enjoyed brisk sales in China since Beijing's announcement to provide zero-tariff treatment for 15 varieties of Taiwan fruits starting this month, the "fever" has rapidly been subsiding and the issue will have to return to market economy fundamentals.
Compared with Japan, China has lower standards in terms of quarantine, inspection and food sanitation, the president said, adding that for this reason, even though Taiwan fruits enjoy duty-free treatment, they still have to face competition from cheap fruits from Southeast Asia.
He pointed out that because Japan has high standards in terms of accepting imports, Taiwan produce will be assured of market share in Japan if it can make inroads into that country. He added that Japanese consumers are willing to pay higher prices for safe, high-quality produce.
