Page 14 - 2018 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Collective Construction The Treasure Island of Taiwan Unit 1: The International and Domestic Agricultural Situations and Major Policy Goals for 2018 2. The Domestic Agricultural Situation The total value of agricultural production in 2018 has been initially estimated at NT$549.8 billion, an increase of 0.59% over 2017. Farming, forestry, fishery, and animal husbandry accounted for 52.27%, 0.03%, 17.41%, and 30.29% of this total, respectively. The agricultural production index has been initially estimated as 106.38 (with 2016 as the base year). Because there was good weather over the last two years, production remained stable, with total production quantity increasing by about 1.71% over 2017. Within this figure, farm crops increased by 1.8%, fishery products by 0.75%, and animal husbandry products by 1.83%. In terms of agriproduct prices, in 2018 the wholesale price index for farm, forestry, fishery, and animal husbandry products fell by 3.41%. Breaking this gure down, the price of farm products fell by 7.96%, that of forestry products rose by 5.29%, that of fishery products rose by 2.90%, and that of animal husbandry products fell by 0.04%. In terms of agricultural trade, in 2018 Taiwan imported US$15.817 billion in agriproducts, an increase of about 4.13% compared to the previous year. The main imported products were bulk grains such as corn and wheat as well as products manufactured from these, soybean oilseeds and soybean powder, frozen meat products (mainly beef), and wood. Meanwhile, Taiwan exported US$5.466 billion in agriproducts, an increase of 9.76% over the previous year. The main export items included fruits (pineapples and sugar apples), vegetables (edamame, also known as green soybean), flowers (Phalaenopsis orchids), a variety of fishery products, and animal skins and down and related manufactured goods. 3. Major Policy Goals for 2018 Promote direct payments on farmland, incentivize cultivation of (i) crops with competitiveness and (ii) mixed staple crops, expand organic and eco-friendly farming; encourage facilities cultivation; construct an agricultural insurance system, strengthen risk management, and stabilize farmers' incomes. Promote traceability systems and a testing and certication system that consumers can rely on, provide safe farm, sheries, and animal husbandry products; strengthen the safety and management of the use of veterinary drugs on animals; construct a safe production system for agriproducts starting at the source; expand food and agricultural education, promote the use of domestically produced foods in primary and middle school lunches, market the diversified values of agriculture. 12 ●●