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China steals Taiwan¡¦s agriculture
By Lee Wu-chung §õªZ©¾
Sunday, Aug 22, 2010, Page 8
The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA)
this summer has opened the door for Taiwan¡¦s agricultural and fishery exports
and energized the government.
At the same time, however, the Chinese government is setting up ¡§innovation
parks for Taiwanese farmers¡¨ and ¡§experimental areas for cross-strait
agricultural cooperation¡¨ with the intention of attracting skilled personnel,
animal and plant species, technology and capital in an attempt to emulate the
Taiwanese experience.
The resulting agricultural products would have the advantages of Taiwanese
species, realistic pricing and stable supply. They would attract Chinese
consumers far more than agricultural products from Taiwan, and the negative
impact on Taiwanese farmers would by far surpass the advantages that would come
from the import tax exemptions offered on 18 products.
A former high-level Taiwanese agricultural official said in a magazine interview
that Taiwanese species raised or grown in China are still Taiwanese species and
not cheap Chinese copies, and they should be part of Taiwan¡¦s international
marketing. Despite this, we still have not seen any government officials clarify
the situation, and this will only serve to raise further questions among
Taiwanese farmers.
The more time one spends in one of China¡¦s innovation parks for Taiwanese
farmers, the more depressing they become. Many outstanding domestic Taiwanese
species ¡X grouper, Taiwan tilapia, silver perch, sweet fish, Chinese
soft-shelled turtle, abalone, orchids, black pearl wax apple, jinzuan pineapple,
golden mango, Irwin mango, Gaoshan tea, Jinxuan tea, Cuiyu tea, pearl guava and
Yuhebao, or Jade Purse, litchi ¡X are already being planted and bred at an
astonishing scale in these parks throughout China.
Many companies in these parks have very strict quality controls at every stage
of the breeding and marketing process. In addition to being sold in local
markets, companies also plan to use the existing international distribution
network for large-sale exports of these agricultural and fishery products, and
some of these companies are already supplying their products to well known
international retailers, such as Walmart and Carrefour.
During a visit to these processing plants, I discovered that the machinery was
quite modern and quality controls were in no way inferior to those in Taiwan.
With the assistance of local governments and international certification
institutions, these plants had obtained several international certificates for
agricultural and fishery environmental safety, and they now meet the strict
import inspection standards of the biggest developed countries, such as the US,
Japan and the EU.
This will make them formidable competitors as the Taiwanese agricultural and
fishery industries try to expand into international markets. The average
domestic Taiwanese small-scale marketing company for agricultural products will
be no match for these companies and their economies of scale. From an expert
point of view, Taiwan does not have many advantages left in terms of species,
technologies and processing. That is why the government must have an unambiguous
and strict approach to dealing with farmers and Taiwanese businesspeople who
want to invest in China.
Modern agricultural development is dependent on a biotechnological foundation,
which offers high added value, is highly effective and has great development
potential. As a result, once China get their hands on superior Taiwanese
species, technologies, machinery and production and marketing experiences, they
will be able to eliminate traditional agricultural production and move toward
the overall goal of a well-off society.
This will also require huge investments in research and manpower, and
technological development takes a long time and is associated with high risk.
That is why China, in addition to actively training research and development
personnel for agricultural biotechnology, is also beginning to reach into
Taiwanese agricultural biotechnology. China is planning to import advanced
Taiwanese agricultural biotechnology and products by offering preferential
treatment in the hope that they will be able to quickly shrink the gap between
Taiwan and China in these areas and raise the overall standard of the
agricultural biotechnology field in China.
Unfortunately, Taiwan does not have any far reaching and comprehensive response
measures that can be seen. Unilateral export of skilled personnel and technology
will not be good for the long term prospects of Taiwanese agriculture. Crisis is
akin to change, and once Taiwanese agriculture loses its competitiveness, how
will we revive our farming communities?
Lee Wu-chung is a professor of agricultural economics at
National Taiwan University.
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