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Updated Sunday, July 4, 2010 11:34 am TWN, CNA

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Taiwanese milkfish farmers welcome China trade pact

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Operators of Taiwan's fish farms, mostly congregated in the southern part of the country, welcomed the signing of the landmark cross-Taiwan Strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) under which China will offer zero tariff treatment for 18 Taiwanese agricultural and fishery items.

Milkfish are one of several cultured fish products included among the 18 items.

Wang Chang-hao, chairman of the Tainan Aquaculture Development Association, said that all the members of the association — most of whom are owners of major aquaculture farms in Tainan County — are in agreement that the tariff concessions will benefit them economically and keep them busy in the coming years.

Tainan City and Tainan County together have the largest acreage of saltwater aquaculture ponds in Taiwan, covering about 18,000 hectares, Wang said.

Nearly 7,000 hectares of the ponds are used for the mixed culture of milkfish and grouper fry, he added.

According to Wang, Tainan fish farmers began to export frozen milkfish balls and milkfish fillets to China some three years ago, followed this year by exports of fresh whole milkfish.

He said that although milkfish are also raised in the Chinese provinces of Hainan, Fujian and Guangdong, Taiwanese milkfish, which are of higher quality, have a competitive edge in the Chinese market.

However, he went on, due to the lack of a branding system, Chinese milkfish are often falsely labeled as a Taiwanese product in the China market, which damages the reputation of the real thing.

He therefore suggested that the government should come up with a corporate branding strategy for Taiwan's aquaculture farms to help them build an image in China and better protect their products.

Meanwhile, Tsai Chun-sheng, chief secretary of the Chiayi Fishermen's Association in the southern county of Chiayi, said many local fishermen have approached the association to seek advice on how to shift their aquaculture operations from other fish species to milkfish to take advantage of China's zero-tariff incentive.

Tsai said the ECFA is creating a new business niche for Taiwanese milkfish farmers, who have suffered from market stagnation over the past several years after Chinese and other Asian competitors stole their markets in the United States.

He called for the government to provide transport assistance for milkfish farmers so that their fresh milkfish can be delivered to Chinese buyers within one day.

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