Good news! Starting from July, high-quality domestic rice can be exported to the mainland

After years of cross-strait negotiations, Taiwan's high-quality domestic rice will be legally imported into mainland China starting next month. The Council of Agriculture stated on the 25th that after a Chinese expert group conducted an on-site inspection of the domestic rice production system in June this year, the mainland has announced the "Plant Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Taiwan Rice Exported to the Mainland". Domestic rice can be exported to the mainland in accordance with the "Taiwan Rice Exported to the Mainland Quarantine Management Regulations".

Fei Wenqi, deputy director of the Bureau of Plant and Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture, pointed out that in order to expand the export of domestic agricultural products to the mainland and solve the quarantine and inspection problems of agricultural product trade, the Council of Agriculture has accelerated the quarantine access application for agricultural products through the liaison mechanism of the "Cross-Strait Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection Cooperation Agreement." Domestic rice is of excellent quality. Although it has been exhibited in mainland China many times and is deeply loved by mainland consumers, it has not yet been imported commercially.

After the Council of Agriculture submitted an application for quarantine access for rice exports to mainland China at the end of 2009, after two years of multiple consultations, the two sides finally determined the "Quarantine Management Standards for Taiwan Rice Exports to Mainland China" at the 5th working meeting of the "Cross-Strait Agricultural Products Quarantine and Inspection Cooperation Agreement" in June this year. The mainland has announced the "Plant Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Taiwan Rice Exports to Mainland China", and domestic rice can be exported to mainland China in accordance with relevant regulations from now on.

According to the "Quarantine Management Regulations for Taiwan Rice Exported to Mainland China", rice processing plants must first apply for registration with the Agriculture and Food Department of the Taiwan Rice Commission. When exporting rice, it must undergo quarantine and obtain a quarantine certificate from the Taiwan Rice Inspection and Quarantine Bureau before it can be exported to Mainland China.

In addition, domestic exporters can enjoy low tariff import preferences if they import through mainland importers who have obtained mainland rice import tariff quotas. The Council of Agriculture emphasized that domestic rice should be prioritized for meeting people’s food needs, and the surplus can be exported to other countries. In recent years, the mainland has become the second largest market for Taiwan's agricultural product exports. In order to help Taiwan rice gain market opportunities in the mainland and take into account national food security, the upper limit of total rice exports in the second half of this year will be adjusted to 50,000 metric tons, and will be adjusted again if necessary.

Taiwan's rice is excellent in both variety and quality. In preparation for future exports to mainland China, the Council of Agriculture will guide industry players to establish special zones with farmers to produce high-quality rice, strengthen branding and high-quality marketing strategies to differentiate from mainland China's cheap rice market, open up target markets, and establish stable trade relations between the two sides to increase farmers' income.