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Industry Urges Resumption of Bulk-Commodity Buffer Fund
2007/11/09
Taipei, Nov. 9, 2007 (CENS)--In the face of the decreasing import of bulk commodities due to soaring international prices, the government should resume the import buffer fund subsidizing bulk-commodity import at present, urged Hung Yao-kun, chairman of the Taiwan Feed Association yesterday (Nov. 8).
Hung stressed that such a fund is necessary to avoid serious shortage battering the domestic market, which he said may erupt in February or March next year. He warned that shortage of bulk commodities may hit 30-40%, citing absence of domestic importers in recent opening biddings for bulk-commodity import, except state-run Taiwan Sugar Co. Judging from the two-month shipping time, he estimated that the supply-shortage problem may surface in the first quarter next year.
Hung put forward the proposal when he and several industrial representatives met with Wang Chin-pin, speaker of the Legislative Yuan, urging the Legislative Yuan to revise the law removing the 5% business tax for bulk communities, similar to the practice of the U.S. and Japan, along with the resumption of the buffer fund.
The government abolished the flour-import buffer fund many years ago, which subsidized flour import during high international prices but imposed a surcharge during low international prices, incorporating the NT$200 million balance of the fund into the import-damage relief fund under the Council of Agriculture (COA).
The Board of Foreign Trade recently asked the COA to study feasibility to appropriate a sum from the relief fund for resumption of the buffer fund. Steve Ruey-long Chen, though, noted that the proposal is still under the studying stage, adding that resumption of the buffer fund involves revision of related laws/regulations and setup of corresponding measures, in addition to fund raising.
(by Philip Liu)
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