Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Although Taiwan is set to lift its restrictions on U.S. beef imports on the basis of a recent protocol between the two countries, Taiwan importers are being turned off by costs and the complicated paperwork required to bring in ground beef and offal from the United States. The government's stricter administrative procedures, which have driven up the import costs of U.S. ground beef and offal, coupled with public concerns over the safety of the products, have left Taiwanese meat importers reluctant to file for import permits.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has proposed stricter measures to monitor the three main links in the beef supply chain, namely U.S. beef suppliers, customs entries and marketing channels.
Potential importers are also required to produce documents proving that U.S. ground beef and offal are from cattle slaughtered after Nov. 2, and to show quarantine documents, food safety certificates and U.S. export permits before they could file for import permit from the Taiwan authorities.
"All that paperwork could be what is spooking Taiwan importers, " BOFT officials said, adding that they do not expect any potential importers to step forward anytime soon to apply for import permits.
Echoing that view, Huang Shih-yen, an assistant manager with Shuh Sen Co., one of Taiwan's major importers of U.S.
beef and beef products, said it appears that the string of government requirements has "effectively" barred U.S. ground beef and offal from entering Taiwan. At the same time, there has been no violation of the protocol that Taiwan and the United States agreed to on Oct. 22, he added.
The Cabinet-level Department of Health announced on Oct. 23 that Taiwan would expand imports of U.S. beef, based on the protocol agreed to by the two countries.
Under the protocol, Taiwan will allow the importation of U.S.
bone-in beef, ground beef, intestines, spinal cords and processed beef from cattle younger than 30 months that have not been contaminated with specific risk materials, with effect from Nov. 10.
Taiwan's four major importer and exporter associations issued a joint statement recently, stating that they will not import U.S.
ground beef or offal unless the public's fears over potentially hazardous products subside.
(By Lin Shu-yuan and Deborah Kuo)
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