Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung says that reports indicating Taiwan is unwilling to import Lithuanian agriculture products are “untrue.” The reports came from Lithuanian news outlet Delfi.
Minister Chen refuted the report saying that Taiwan and Lithuania share substantial agricultural exchanges. He says that Taiwan and Lithuania will further deepen those ties by signing more agreements in the future. The minister says there is much interest and room for stronger cooperation.
Taiwan’s Representative to Lithuania Eric Huang says that some Lithuanian products have been slow to enter Taiwan due to regulatory discrepancies. According to Huang, some Lithuanian products can’t enter Taiwan due to differences in nutritional standards. However, Huang says Taiwanese interest in importing Lithuanian goods remains strong. In particular, he says that Taiwanese companies are interested in importing Lithuanian dairy and meat products.
Huang says Taiwan and Lithuania are new markets to each other, so there is still much administrative procedure to work through.
Many businesses in Taiwan have tried to show support for Lithuania as the Baltic country faces economic sanctions from Beijing. Lithuania welcomed a Taiwanese Representative Office in its capital Vilnius last year, a move which drew ire from China.
Over half of Lithuania’s land is used for agricultural purposes while another third is occupied by forests. Its agricultural, food, and drink products are among its major industries.