5 features of trade with Taiwan
Ukrainian Food Export Board (UFEB) took part in a knowledge exchange and business-matching with Taiwan in the Meat Processing Sector and tells about 5 key features of trade with this province.
1 - Competitive Advantage:
Taiwan is 90% self-sufficient in meat. But the determining factor of sales is the price. For example, Canadian pork is in high demand due to the fact that the cost of carcass is 42 Taiwan dollars per kg, while the carcass of local pork has a price of 64 Taiwan dollars per kg.
2 - Pork market:
Until 1997, Taiwan was considered the largest producer and exporter of pork in the East Asian region. However, after the foot and mouth disease epidemic, the industry lost livestock and export markets. In 2003, the status of disease-free territory was confirmed, and now the island is restoring its position in pig production.
3 - Beef market:
But the beef in the Taiwan market is all imported. Frozen half carcasses of Prime and Choice category are imported. Frozen semi-finished products are in sale.
4 - Contracts:
Focusing on the local market, you need to pay attention that 90% of food industry companies are small and medium-sized. This will affect the size of lots, if you don’t work with an intermediary. But at the same time, trade with Taiwan is a great opportunity to sell products that do not have a high demand in Ukraine, because all parts of the carcass, insides, ears-tails, even the diaphragm are used on the island for consumption.
5 - Main competitors:
Key suppliers of pork are Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Hungary, France, Spain, Finland; Beef is imported mainly from USA, Australia, Paraguay.
Local competitors are cooperatives, farmers, their associations, as well as Taiwan Sugar Corporation - a state-owned company, the largest producer of pork with 400 thousand pigs. Usually pigs are shipped to the auction market, slaughtered at night and fresh meat is sold in the local markets in the morning.
The difficulty of direct trade of pork with Taiwan are the need to obtain the status of a country free from ASF, as well as to provide documents on quarantine inspection, disease control (in particular FMD and plague of cattle), food safety chain, logistics and certification system.
The trip was initiated by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)