Mainland China, Taiwan farming cooperation could be fruitful – despite recent sour grapes

Boosting the farming trade between mainland China, Taiwan could increase economic activity and mend frayed ties after relations have grown icy

Industry insiders are receptive, but previous trade controls have spoiled progress and diminished trust

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Taiwan’s teas, grown at plantations like these, are in high demand among consumers in mainland China. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00am, 13 Dec 2023Updated: 1:23pm, 13 Dec 2023

A proposal from mainland China to boost agricultural cooperation with Taiwan would be welcomed on the island because of the mainland’s market size, but export bans and cross-Strait tensions could slow any resultant momentum, people in the industry say.

Taiwanese companies behind the production of tea, seafood and vegetables – products mainland consumers already prize – want to sell more to the world’s second-largest economy, according to entrepreneurs and trade associations. Most Taiwanese farms are small, family-run businesses that see exports as a way to raise incomes.

“Whether tea growers or packagers, there should be space for cooperation,” said Yu Mao-fen, secretary of the Taiwan Tea Exporters Association in Taipei.

“People of Chinese ancestry drink a lot of tea, and the more of that the better. But cross-Strait ties are always up and down, so it’s hard for the sellers.”

At a meeting on November 30, the mainland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs pledged to find new fronts for bolstering ties in the field.

The ministry called for improving a 14-year-old Taiwan Farmers Entrepreneurship Park in Fuzhou and offering more cross-Strait agricultural exchanges.

“There is potential space for the integrated development of agriculture on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and we must deeply understand challenges … make up for shortcomings, and improve the quality of agricultural work with Taiwan,” the ministry said after its meeting in Xiamen, a city just opposite the strait.