Northwest Horticultural Council
Export Manual
TAIWAN
Capital: TaipeiPopulation: 23,595,274 (2024)
Currency: New Taiwan Dollar
Official Language(s): Mandarin Chinese
I. CHEMICAL MAXIMUM RESIDUE LEVELS (MRLs)
Please click on the above link for a list of chemical MRLs.
Taiwan has included cherries, along with apples and pears, as part of the “pome” crop classification for pesticide residues limits.
II. CHEMICALS AND ADDITIVE INFORMATION
A. Chemical residue standards:
Taiwan sets its own maximum residue levels. Newer chemical compounds registered for use in the U.S. may not yet have an MRL in Taiwan. Provisional MRLs, based on U.S. MRLs, have been established for certain crops if a chemical’s registrant submitted a data package to Taiwan by October of 2000. Please see MRL table in Section I above for specific chemical information. Since this situation is not yet fully resolved, read table and footnotes carefully realizing that changes can occur and they are sometimes imperfectly communicated to Taiwan’s trading partners.
B. Monitoring chemical residues:
The Taiwan authorities monitor chemical residues on imported fruits, including apples, pears, and cherries. Samples are tested using multiple residue analysis for approximately 200 chemicals.
Imports of fruit and vegetables are subject to inspections for compliance with Taiwan’s pesticide, food safety and labeling requirements at the port of entry. Each fruit shipment will have a 2-10% chance of being sampled and tested upon arrival. Shipments are released for sale after the retrieval of samples and a document review. Noncompliance with Taiwan’s pesticide standards results in the recall of the unconsumed shipment product.
Noncompliance is regulated by the Taiwan importer and by commodity: Following the first violation for an importer, the rate of inspection increases to 20-50%. If the same importer violates the pesticide standard a second time, then all shipments imported by this Taiwan import company will be subject to testing. The release of these shipments is not permitted until testing is completed.
An importer may qualify for a reduced inspection rate if there are no additional violations following the testing of five consecutive shipments totaling three times the volume of the previous shipment(s) that violated the regulations.
If detections become widespread across a food or food product, then batch-by-batch inspections move up to 20-50% for all imports of that product from that supplying country.
C. Restrictions on use of waxes:
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) does not allow the use of carnauba wax on fruits and vegetables. TFDA does allow the use of shellac-based wax.
The NHC is working with U.S. officials and wax manufacturers to seek a change in Taiwan’s regulations to allow the use of carnauba wax on produce.
Background: In 2022, a shipment of apples to Taiwan was rejected due to the fact that a wax statement on a carton label was crossed off. Carton labeling requirements for Taiwan are listed below under section V. Non-Tariff Barriers.
Additional information on labeling requirements, both domestic and for export, can be found in the NHC’s Fresh Fruit Labeling Manual. Exporters should check with their importers to ensure that any special labeling requirements are met prior to shipment. In particular, chemical-specific labeling or food-additive labeling on export cartons should be limited to that mandated by the government of the destination market.
III. ORGANIC FRUIT REGULATIONS
On June 4, 2020, USDA announced a new U.S.-Taiwan equivalence arrangement, effective May 30, 2020, that streamlines organic trade with Taiwan. The arrangement allows organic products certified in the United States or Taiwan to be sold as organic in either market. For more information from the USDA National Organic Program on the equivalence arrangement click here.
Labeling: Stickers or labels on retail products need to state the name of the U.S. or Taiwan certifying agent and can use the USDA Organic seal. Taiwan’s organic mark remains for use only by Taiwan businesses and is not allowed to be applied to USDA Organic products.
USDA certified organic products exported to Taiwan must be accompanied by an organic transaction certificate (TM-11) that verifies that the product complies with the terms of the U.S.-Taiwan export arrangements. A list of certifying agents approved to issue TM-11 export certificates may be found here.
IV. TARIFFS
Apples 20%
Pears 10%
Cherries 7.5%
Oriental pears are subject to a tariff rate quota with an in-quota duty of 18%.
The tariff is CIF and initially assessed on the basis of a reference price. Periodically, the government of Taiwan establishes a Transaction Price (TP). The TP is used to determine the duty due from Taiwan importers for fruit shipped during the timeframe immediately preceding the TP determination. Any difference between the reference price and the TP will result in either an additional duty assessment or duty rebate from Customs to the importers.
In addition to the tariffs, a 0.3% harbor construction fee is required for all imported and exported goods.
V. NON-TARIFF BARRIERS
A. Labeling requirements:
Product name, grade, size, weight, and origin should be displayed on cartons.
B. Licenses and quotas:
Import permits are required for apples. Permits are available to every importer who applies for them, but permits are only valid for six months.
C. Currency Issues:
Foreign exchange is regulated by Central Bank, but controls should not affect normal commercial transactions.
D. Pest and plant disease restrictions:
Apples inspected and certified under the Quarantine Requirements for the Importation of Fresh Apples from the United States (2019) are eligible for export to Taiwan. Packers are urged to select lots for export to Taiwan that are at low risk for detection of live larvae. These selections are best made through consultation with packinghouse field staff and/or the grower’s licensed pesticide consultant.
As specified in the work plan, two codling moth interceptions upon arrival in Taiwan from an individual packer will result in the suspension of the packing facility for the remainder of the season. (Allowance is made if the additional interceptions occur within fourteen days of the first interception.) The entire export program will be suspended if three packing facilities are disqualified from export during a single season. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) must conduct an investigation. The suspension will be lifted after Taiwan reviews and approves the APHIS report.
For a copy of the document needed to log packinghouse inspections, click on this document link. For a copy of the forms necessary to record the results of on-tree or field bin sampling, click on this document link.
Apple shipments from all U.S. growers and packinghouses are subject to stringent inspection upon arrival.
A phytosanitary certificate is required.
Apples and pears: Must be free from Cydia pomonella (codling moth), Conotrachelus nenuphar (plum curculio), Erwinia amylovora (fire blight), Frankliniella occidentalis (western flower thrips), Rhagoletis pomonella (apple maggot), and Anarsia lineatella (peach twig borer).
On August 7, 2008, USDA/APHIS issued inspection guidelines concerning fruit decay in apples destined for export to Taiwan. Contact your local state inspection service official for more information.
Cherries, peaches, and nectarines: Must be free from codling moth, plum curculio, fire blight, western flower thrips, and Anarsia lineatella (peach twig borer).
Shipments transiting third counties or districts with quarantine concerns: Strict regulations apply to shipments that transit Vancouver, B.C. or other third countries en route to Taiwan. However, if a cargo is loaded in the U.S. and transits a third country en route to Taiwan but never leaves the aircraft or vessel in which it was originally loaded, the third country transit regulations do not apply.
Phytosanitary Inspection Level in Taiwan: Upon arrival in Taiwan, ocean containers selected for inspection are inspected at the rate of six or more cartons per 1,000 cartons. All the fruit in a carton is looked at. Three cartons in the first 100 cartons are inspected; out of each additional 300 cartons, one carton is inspected.
A minimum of two containers will be inspected on consignments of 10 containers or less. For every additional 10 containers in a consignment, at least one more container will be inspected.
E. Trademark Registry:
To protect and register a U.S. trademark in Taiwan, firms must work through Taiwan’s Trademark Office. Contact the Agricultural Trade Office for assistance.
F. Solid Wood Packaging Material (SWPM) Regulations:
Taiwan requires ISPM 15 SWPM regulations.
VI. MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST TREE FRUIT INDUSTRY
Washington Apple Commission/Pear Bureau Northwest:
Steven Chu
Steven Chu & Associates Co., Ltd.
Taipei, Taiwan
Voice: 886 2 2720 1718
Fax: 886 2 2720 1798
E-mail: [email protected]
Northwest Cherry Growers:
Yi “Hermann” Kuo
LL & Wang Ltd.
E-mail: [email protected]
VII. OTHER RESOURCE LINKS
Governmental:
VIII. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Taiwan became the 144th WTO member on January 1, 2002.