The Council of Agriculture has unveiled new measures designed to bring down the price of pork.
Pork prices in Taiwan rose earlier in the year following an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea, which killed more than 100,000 piglets. The auction price of for pork now sits at above NT$80 (around US$2.63) per kilogram. Meanwhile, demand for pork is forecast to rise as the Tomb-Sweeping Festival and Dragon Boat Festival approach.
The council has announced that it will limit the number of hogs that refrigeration plants can purchase if prices do not return to NT$75 (roughly US$2.47) per kilogram by March 23. The council will also stop insuring pigs weighing more than 130kg in an effort to discourage farmers from keeping pigs that are ready for slaughter.
Speaking Wednesday, Agriculture Deputy Minister Wang Cheng-teng announced that Taiwan will also begin importing pork from France.
"Taiwan added France to the list of its pork suppliers, which include Canada, the US, Denmark, and the Netherlands, beginning on March 4 this year," said Wang. "French pork had not been allowed into Taiwan because of swine fever, but the epidemic in France has cleared up, so we approved the importation of French pork on March 4."
The first shipment of pork from France is expected to arrive in Taiwan at the end of April.