The Ministry of Labor says that further discussion will be needed before a proposal to import farm workers into Taiwan can go ahead.
Minister of the Council of Agriculture Chen Bao-ji said on Wednesday that Taiwan is planning to import foreign farm workers starting next January.
The labor ministry responded Thursday, saying that the agriculture council must first come up with more detailed statistics on what kind of farm workers are needed and when they are needed. The labor ministry also said that the agriculture council has to prove that incentive programs to encourage young Taiwanese to take up farm work cannot solve the worker shortage problem.
The labor ministry said it has set up a committee to evaluate its foreign worker policy. It said the agriculture council should send in its proposal for committee members to discuss and evaluate.