Taiwan’s Agriculture Ministry and the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held The 6th Taiwan-UK Joint Agriculture Dialogue in Taipei on Tuesday. The two sides discussed topics such as avian influenza prevention and control measures, agricultural trade, cooperation on emerging plant protein products, and market access.
The U.K.'s Chief Veterinary Officer exchanged opinions on avian influenza pathogen detection with Taiwan’s Veterinary Research Institute and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency. In the past two years, the international avian influenza epidemic has been severe and caused the death of a large number of wild birds, as well as impacting the poultry industry.
The ministry says that Taiwan and the U.K. signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation in 2021 to establish a bilateral agricultural cooperation mechanism. Regular meetings are held to resolve market access issues and deepen agricultural technology exchanges and cooperation, ensure sustainable agricultural development, and promote the well-being of farmers on both sides.
The ministry says the U.K. is an important agricultural trading partner for Taiwan. In 2022, agricultural products exported to the U.K. were worth approximately US$37 million. The import volume of British products to Taiwan was approximately US$593 million.