Organics trade arrangement Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Taiwan

The UK and Taiwan have now signed an organics trade arrangement Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU enables the resumption of British export of processed organic products to Taiwan. The first ‘from scratch’ organics equivalency arrangement agreed, the UK-Taiwan MoU means the UK regards Taiwanese organic regulations as sufficiently similar to our own to allow reciprocal acceptance of organic goods.

However, alcoholic beverages, bee products, animals/products made with livestock ingredients where animals have been treated with antibiotics, products with added sodium nitrite and/or potassium nitrate and organic yeast/ any product containing organic yeast as an ingredient have been used are not recognised under this arrangement. The following categories are also not recognised:

• Category A: Unprocessed plant products

• Category B: Live animals or unprocessed animal products

• Category C: Unprocessed aquaculture products and algae

• Category E: Processed agricultural products for use as feed

• Category F: Vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation

UK organic products exported to Taiwan must also not bear the EU logo or references to the EU in the statement of agriculture on the label. This MoU is the first phase of an arrangement; both sides are committed to expanding to incorporate a wider range and product categories of organic products/categories in due course. To find out more read this Defra press release.