Taiwan’s egg import program faces controversy

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan refuted accusations from media reports on Friday (Sept. 1) regarding the egg import program, which implied the government only subsidized specific importers. 

Cheng called upon the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to provide a detailed explanation, asserting that the entire process is "open and aboveboard."

Before attending an event opening ceremony earlier that day, Cheng told reporters, "The government subsidizes the price differences for imported eggs, instead of making exorbitant profits."

Responding to concerns from opposition party legislators, Cheng stated, "All traders, regardless of their identity, must comply with the mechanism as long as they supply eggs to the Ministry of Agriculture for further coordination."

As Taiwan faced severe egg shortages during the first half of the year, the MOA initiated an egg import program in March to subsidize imported eggs through qualified vendors in the business.

In related news, the program subsidized a total of 140 million imported eggs provided by Mitagri, National Animal Industry Foundation, Ultra Source, Yo Ho Food, and other units from March to July. 

Among these vendors, Ultra Source, with a registered capital of just NT＄500,000 established last September, imported a staggering 80 million eggs from Brazil, constituting over 60% of the total amount of imported eggs.

In a statement issued the day before, the MOA clarified that the program did not subsidize specific importers but absorbed the price differences between domestic and imported eggs, claiming that the people were the beneficiaries of the program.