Minister of the Council of Agriculture Chen Bao-ji has said that Taiwan is planning to import foreign farm workers starting next January.
While giving a report at the legislature on Wednesday, Chen said that hiring farm workers from other countries is inevitable because most young people in Taiwan are reluctant to work in the agricultural sector.
Chen said that the agriculture council is only planning to import seasonal workers to meet demand for labor during peak seasons. But since current regulations do not allow the hiring of foreign workers under this kind of contract, the agriculture council will talk to the labor ministry, and may start with a pilot project first.
As for concerns that foreign farmers might compete with domestic workers, the council said that imported workers will be doing jobs that most Taiwanese do not want, so they will not be competing for local workers’ jobs.