Deal will facilitate circulation of organic food without additional certification
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/31
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After reaching a deal on the mutual recognition of organic certifications on
Chiou I-jen (left), Mitsuo Ohashi. (AFA photo)
Taiwanese and Japanese officials wrapped up their 44th annual round of talks on economic and trade in Tokyo on Wednesday. Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), president of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, and Mitsuo Ohashi, chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) during the two-day conference, outlining bilateral cooperation on agriculture, patents, and environmental protection.
Organic products sold overseas are required to go through the certification process of the importing country. The agreement to recognize each other's certification will exempt both countries from these procedures, facilitating the circulation of organic Taiwanese food in Japan and vice-versa.
The agreement will go into effect as soon as early next year after Taiwan’s agricultural agency confirms details regarding export management with its Japanese counterpart, said the Agricultural and Food Agency (AFA) on Wednesday. Japan is the first country to reach such an agreement with the island, which implemented the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act last year.
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