In a recent development aimed at alleviating a domestic egg shortage, Taiwan has temporarily opened its market to eggs and egg products from 12 countries, including Australia. This move is in response to supply constraints in Taiwan attributed to unpredictable weather, escalating feed costs, and recent outbreaks of avian influenza. The newly implemented market access for Australia and the other 11 countries will remain in effect until June 30, 2024.
Market Access and Tariffs
Australia has existing access to Taiwan for in-shell eggs from all states except Victoria. With the recent easing of restrictions, Australian exporters of egg products will benefit from increased market access. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data for 2022–23, Taiwan ranks as Australia’s fourth-largest market for birds’ eggs in shell, and sixteenth for agricultural, fisheries, and forestry products overall. The Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff rates applied by Taiwan to eggs and egg products mostly stand at 30%.
Performance of Australian Egg Exports
Australia’s trade in eggs to Taiwan had previously been restricted following an outbreak of avian influenza in Victoria in 2020. In 2021, Taiwan reinstated trade in eggs for those sourced outside of Victoria. In terms of value, Australia’s largest markets for in-shell eggs in the 2022–23 fiscal year were Hong Kong (24%), Vanuatu (22%), and Singapore (18%). Taiwan accounted for 12% of the Australian in-shell egg market in the same period. Additionally, the value of egg exports to Taiwan has seen a marked increase from A$0.7 million in 2021–22 to A$1.6 million in 2022–23.
Global Context
Globally, the European Union dominates the egg export market, supplying approximately 61% of global egg exports between 2019 and 2022. This is followed by the United States (11%) and Turkey (6%). Australia’s share is less than 1% of global egg exports. Notably, Turkey and Brazil had also been suppliers to Taiwan, but their exports have been halted due to detections of banned carcinogens and veterinary drug residues.
Further Information
For more details on these market access changes, the department has released two Market Access Advices (2023-03 and 2023-09). Information regarding import conditions for eggs and egg products to Taiwan can be located in the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR).
The information for this article was provided by the Australian Government’s network of Agriculture Counsellors and is available on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.
For more information, please visit Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.