Browse Data and Analysis

Taiwan issued a new WTO notification (G/TBT/N/TPKM/541) on June 7, 2024, amending the labeling regulations for liquid milk, which will mainly impact the nomenclature of liquid milk from the United States. Currently, liquid milk from the United States can be labeled as "fresh milk" if it complies with CNS regulation.

Taiwan is highly dependent on agricultural imports due to its insufficient farmland. In 2023, it imported $3.66 billion of food and agricultural products, making it US' eighth largest trading partner in agricultural goods. This extraordinary amount is achieved also because Taiwan has one of the highest disposable incomes in north Asia, and consumers generally have positive impressions of U.S. food and beverage products.

Taiwan published its annual list of food and agriculture imports receiving enhanced border inspection in 2024. U.S. fresh cherries are the only U.S.-origin item on the list. This announcement is effective from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.

On December 25, 2023, Taiwan announced that U.S. cherries exported to Taiwan will undergo enhanced border inspection (20 – 50 percent inspection rate) from April 1 until September 30, 2024.

In 2022, Taiwan was the seventh largest export market for U.S. food and agricultural products, valued at over $4.4 billion. Imported food and agricultural products must comply with a range of laws designed to protect human health and prevent the introduction of animal and plant pests or diseases.

This report lists major export certificates required by the Taiwan government to export food and agricultural products to Taiwan.

On December 22, 2023, Taiwan completed the last tender for 6,000 MT of U.S. long grain brown rice. This purchase concludes the tenders for the 2023 country specific quota (CSQ) for U.S. rice.

Bulgaria is a small but growing market for U.S. food and agricultural products. In 2022, total Bulgarian food and agricultural imports were valued at $8.48 billion, up 38 percent from 2021, of which 1.1 percent, or $92.2 million, were sourced from the United States.

As the US’ sixth-largest export market for food and agricultural products, Taiwan imported a record-high US $4.4 billion of food and agricultural products from the US in 2022. These high-in-demand products include beef, poultry, dairy, fruits, tree nuts, and vegetables.

As a European Union (EU) Member State, Bulgaria applies EU regulatory requirements for all animal- and plant-origin food and agricultural imports.

Bulgaria acceded to the European Union (EU) in 2007 and follows EU directives and regulations pertaining to food safety, quality and standards.

On November 13, 2023, Taiwan notified the WTO of a new draft amendment for Sanitation Standards for Contaminants and Toxins in Food (G/SPS/N/TPKM/621). This report contains highlights from the draft as well as a link to the full notification.