From November 28, 2022, my country will open the import of refrigerated and frozen fresh pork from Paraguay.

(From the official website of the Embassy in Paraguay)

[Reporter Lu Yixuan/Taipei Report] Following the opening of the import of Paraguayan beef the year before, my country will open the import of refrigerated and frozen fresh pork from Paraguay starting from November 28, 2022.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay praised "Taiwan, a country of brothers, has deepened mutual friendship with practical actions", and looked forward to continuing to work together to look forward to the future and opportunities.

Paraguay is one of my country's important friends in South America. Taiwan and Paraguay signed an "Economic Cooperation Agreement" in 2018. The import of Paraguayan beef was opened the year before. This year, Paraguay's offal imports were introduced with zero tariffs. Now Paraguay has become the second largest importer of Taiwan's beef. , second only to the United States.

The Council of Agriculture has also revised the "Quarantine Guidelines for Imported Quarantine Items" this year. In September, it announced that Paraguayan fresh pork would be opened. However, in order to protect the domestic pork industry, the import of offal was not opened. Only pork, backfat, pig skin, and main meat were announced. Artery, diaphragm inlet.

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Paraguay’s cattle and pigs did not use ractopamine during the growth process. In the notice, the Council of Agriculture stipulated that in addition to the pastures of the source of pigs for slaughter in Paraguay, there must be no pig-related epidemics. It also stipulates that pork should be exported from Paraguay one year before. No country can have foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, or swine fever. In addition, pork slaughter must be cold-chained and matured.

The Chinese embassy in Paraguay announced on its official website that starting from November 28, 2022, Paraguayan refrigerated and frozen boneless pork will be allowed to export to the Taiwan market.

The embassy in Paraguay pointed out that Taiwan is a big pork consumer, with an average annual consumption of 35 kilograms of pork per person, or about 900,000 tons per year, of which 84,000 tons are imported, accounting for 10%. This is an opportunity market for Paraguay.

This opening allows the Paraguayan meat industry to sell a new premium product in Taiwan without setting quotas, an extremely important achievement in relations between the two countries.

The embassy in Paraguay shared that Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Epidemic Prevention and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) and Paraguay’s National Animal Health and Quality Administration (SENACSA) have worked together to achieve this authorization in the past few years.

In May of this year, Paraguay was the first country to accept Taiwan's on-site inspectors after the epidemic to evaluate the production and sales of fresh pork.

The embassy in Paraguay emphasized that Taiwan reaffirms its commitment to strengthening trade agreements with Paraguay, including providing incentives for investment. The two countries are not only friends, but also great partners.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Paraguay shared the good news on Twitter and praised Taiwan and Paraguay for deepening their friendship through practical actions. "Today, Paraguay's fraternal country, Taiwan, officially announced the opening of the market to Paraguayan pork! Let us continue to work together and look forward to the future and opportunity!"