Taiwan's pig farmers urge enactment of bills to enforce origin labels

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Local pig farmers on Friday called for the enactment of related bills to effectively enforce country-of-origin labeling if Taiwan's domestic market is to be opened to U.S. pork products under the newly signed Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART).

On Thursday (U.S. time), Taiwan signed a trade agreement committing to cut tariffs on U.S. pork.

Specifically, levies for pork trotters and intestines will be reduced from the current 12.5 percent to between 6.3 and 10 percent over a three-year period after the deal -- which still requires approval from the Legislature -- is implemented.

Meanwhile, tariffs on swine trotters and offal will drop from 15 percent to 7.5 percent immediately, as these items are not subject to the three-year grace period.

Speaking with CNA, Pan Lien-chou (潘連周), president of the R.O.C. Swine Association, said he was not worried about the competitiveness of Taiwanese pork so long as the government enforces country-of-origin labeling, backed by specific laws.

The labeling should apply to both pork and pork products imported from the U.S., Pan said, noting that some pork products sold in Taiwan are labeled as being from Taiwan, but they are actually a mixture of Taiwanese lean pork and imported fat pork.

Pork imports from the U.S. consist mainly of pork trotters and intestines, Pan said, adding that U.S. pork and Taiwanese pork can serve different markets.

According to government data, pig farming has consistently had the highest production value among all individual agricultural products in Taiwan.

The Ministry of Agriculture stated that although data showed the number of hog farms in Taiwan declined from 7,846 in 2015 to 5,495 in November 2025, the number of pigs kept by each farm increased from 711 to 992.

Canada was the largest source of pork imports to Taiwan in 2025, with 117,690 metric tons, accounting for about 10 percent of Taiwan's market share, the ministry said.

Spain and Denmark followed with 45,000 metric tons and 21,000 metric tons, respectively, while the U.S. ranked seventh with 1,618 metric tons.

However, the U.S. led in swine offal imports, including intestines, with 8,272 metric tons, capturing about a quarter of the overall 32,185 metric tons.