Taiwan sanctions Phillipine crab and lobster imports

The Taiwanese ban on Philippine crabs and lobsters took effect in April this year.

Trade and Industry Senior Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino said the collaborative efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry, through the Trade and Investment Office in Taipei (PTICTaipeh) and the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP), and the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), were instrumental in the monitoring, control, and corrective measures imposed by the Taiwan Department of Health (Taiwan-DOH) to imports of live lobsters and crabs from the Philippines.

The 'de facto' ban came after the Taiwan-DOH reported that exports of live rock and spiny lobsters from the Philippines were found with traces of nitrofuran metabolites. Taiwan authorities believed that exporters, in a bid to decrease lobster mortality rate while in transit, may have introduced the banned substances at the port of shipment. 

"It should be emphasized that our exporters of live lobsters and crabs must have accreditation from BFAR for their products to be allowed entry into Taiwan," Aquino said.

Previously, in December last year, the Taiwanese government informed the Philippines that its exports of live rock and spiny lobsters had been found with traces of nirofurans and would be temporarily suspended.

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