WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/STR/Q1/TPKM/2
17 December 2002
(02-6954)
Working Party on
State Trading EnterprisesOriginal:  English
STATE TRADING
Replies to Questions posed by THAILAND1 concerning
the New and Full Article XVII Notification of the SEPARATE CUSTOMS
TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU 2
The following communication, dated 12 December 2002, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
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Q1. It is stated in the notification that the Council of Agriculture (COA), Executive Yuan, is
in charge of the agricultural policy and admini stration.  In the case of rice, the COA will
allocate the rice quota to be imported by registered importers from the private sector each year.
Thailand would like to seek more information on the criteria for and the qualifications of the
registered importers that could participate in  rice importation as set forth by the COA.
Reply
With regard to the criteria applied to registered importers and the qualification required to
participate in rice importation as set forth by the Council of Agriculture (COA) in the "Food
Management Act", all food business operators shall file a food dealer registration with the competent
authority.  A private sector applicant for a rice quota shall register as a food dealer with the COA.
The food dealer registration certificate (or business licence) shall specify the business categories of
rice or processed rice products authorized.  Business categories shall include importing (i.e. animporter who has registered at the Board of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs).
Q2. How are the specifications of rice to be imported determined?
Reply
The specifications of the rice to be imported are determined as follows:
I. For government imported rice:
(1) In compliance with our commitment to the WT O, government-imported rice will have full
access to normal marketing channels, wholesalers, distributors, and end users.  Thus, the
government determines the specifications of public rice imports based on the domestic market
demand and consumption pattern.
                                                     
1 G/STR/Q1/TPKM/1
2 G/STR/N/8/TPKMG/STR/Q1/TPKM/2
Page 2
(2) Because all the rice varieties cultivated in the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu,
Kinmen and Matsu, either Japonica type or Indica type are classified as short or medium
grain, the government specifies medium grain rice for imports to meet the domestic demand.
Furthermore, the specifications for imported rice are determined by reference to the first and
second grades of our national standards (CNS), which are in line with international rice
standards.
II. Private-sector imported rice:
All commercial terms of trade, including product  specifications, origin, pricing and packaging
will be determined solely by importers.
Q3. Does Chinese Taipei have any plan to allow all rice quota to be imported by the private
sector due to real market demand without setting rice specifications?
Reply
With regard to the possibility of allowing all rice quota to be imported by the private sector,
since rice is such an important and politically-sensitive commodity in the Separate Customs Territory
of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, and is also the sector that has suffered the greatest impact
after our accession to the WTO earlier this year, certain government import quota has to bemaintained for the moment in order to alleviate the negative impact of trade liberalization on our
domestic rice market, to ensure the balance between supply and demand and to stabilize the market
price.
Q4. Please update the statistical information in Table I, page 21 of the notification to include
rice imported under tariff quota classified by the tariff line up to the latest data in the year
2002.
Reply
Regarding your request for updated statistical information, we have updated the statistical
data of Table 1 to 2001.G/STR/Q1/TPKM/2
Page 3TABLE I
STATE TRADING:  Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan
STATISTICAL INFORMATION, IMPORTS
Description of product(s)
(including HS number(s))Total quantity imported
(1,000 Mt)Quantity imported by
state trading enterprise
(1,000 Mt)Average
import priceAverage
representative
domestic sales priceMark-upNational production
(brown rice)
(1,000 Mt)
12 3 4 5 6 7
1998 2.9 0 1,489
1999 3.8 0 1,559
2000 6.1 0 1,540Rice
2001 5.5 0 1,396
Note:  The imported rice is only for processing into rice products and re-exported totally.
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