Farmers welcome move but Taipei is more cautious
The mainland yesterday declared 15 types of fruit from the island exempt from tariffs from Monday in an attempt to put further pressure on Taipei.
Wang Liaoping , a vice-chairman of the mainland's Association for Trade and Economic Exchanges Across the Taiwan Strait under the Ministry of Commerce, said that from August 1, 15 kinds of fruit, including pineapples, mangoes, guavas, wax apples, peaches and betel nuts, would be exempt from tariffs when entering the mainland.
Mr Wang said import procedures would be announced soon, and Taiwanese farmers were welcome to make use of the zero-tariff treatment to export the fruit to the mainland.
The announcement was immediately hailed by Taiwanese farmers, who said it would make their products more competitive. The new measure could bring down the cost of the fruit by at least 30 per cent, they said.
Betel nut farmers in southern Taiwan, the traditional support base for President Chen Shui-bian and his independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, were upbeat.