Farm Talk

Ag News from Around the Country

November 3, 2009

Taiwan restrictions on U.S. beef to ease

by John Milburn

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)—Gov. Mark Parkinson said recently he has been assured Taiwan will soon ease restrictions on imports of U.S. beef.

Parkinson met last week with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou during a trade mission to the island nation. Parkinson said Ma indicated Taiwan would soon start accepting shipments of U.S. beef, although no timetable was given.

Taiwan had limited imports to boneless beef products from cattle 30 months old and younger because of concerns about mad cow disease, but it announced Friday it would allow a range of U.S. ``beef in bone'' products to be imported if they carried a label of approval from the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Mad cow is a brain-wasting disease in cattle, which in humans can cause a variant form, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

Parkinson, speaking to reporters about his recent trade mission, said there was considerable effort at all levels of U.S. government to reopen beef markets in Taiwan, as well as other nations in Southeast Asia.

``President Ma indicated that the input we provided was helpful, that he's headed toward a policy that will lift the ban,'' the governor said. ``That would be a terrific benefit to the livestock industry, not just in Kansas, but across the United States.''

Taiwan purchased $128 million in beef products from the United States in 2008, said Scarlett Hagins, spokeswoman for the Kansas Livestock Association.

``If we could grow that market, it would be great,'' Hagins said.

Taiwan recently agreed to buy $425 million worth of wheat from the United States, most of which will come from Kansas.

``On every level, it was a success,'' Parkinson said of the trade mission. ``We thought that it was important to go to Taiwan to thank the officials for entering into that agreement for us, to affirm that we would fulfill our obligations and, hopefully, lay the foundation for discussions about future sales.''

Taiwan was the 16th largest market for Kansas products in 2008. It is the seventh largest export market for U.S. agricultural products and the second largest per person.

Parkinson said he also visited the Garmin Ltd. plant in Taipei. The maker of GPS navigation devices has its corporate headquarters in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, but Garmin CEO Min Kao is from Taiwan.

Parkinson plans to return to Southeast Asia next month to speak in China's Henan province at an energy meeting. Kansas is seeking investment from Asian countries to develop renewable energy, including additional manufacturing of wind energy components, he said.

The governor spoke at a two-day green energy summit while in Taiwan.

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