TAIPEI - Taiwan said it was exploring ways to resume limited pork shipments to Japan, which was its biggest market before a foot-and-mouth epidemic prompted Tokyo to ban imports of Taiwan pork.
"We are seeking ways to restart some categories of pork export to the Japanese market," a senior official of the cabinet's Council of Agriculture said. "Cooked and processed pork are most likely to be permitted for exports to Japan," he added.
A team of Japanese inspectors was due in Taiwan this week to review the safety of its processed pork. Officials said thoroughly cooked pork, under strict food handling procedures, would be free of the foot-and-mouth disease contamination.
Before the hog epidemic, Japan imported 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of pork a year from Taiwan, with processed pork comprising about 10 percent of the total.
Taiwan's farm council on March 20 slapped a temporary ban on all exports of fresh, frozen and processed pork due to the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease -- a deadly and highly contagious disease that affects livestock.
Japan and South Korea -- the main importers of Taiwan pork -- responded by banning pork imports from Taiwan indefinitely to protect their herds.
Taiwan lifted the export ban on April 17, but exporters were required to obtain permits from importing countries.
Europe, Canada and U.S. pork exporters have been looking for Japan to import large amounts of U.S. pork to make up for Taiwan's lost market share.
More than 3.5 million of Taiwan's 14 million hogs have been destroyed to halt the epidemic and officials say it has been controlled as no new cases have been reported since late May.
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