Taiwan rejects US wheat over pesticide

16 July 2007

Taiwan has rejected 9,000 tonnes of US wheat after residue from a prohibited agricultural pesticide was found in a recent shipment, a senior food safety official said on Sunday.

According to Hsieh Ting-hung, deputy director of the food safety department, customs officials discovered residue from malathion pesticide in a shipment of US wheat some 10 days ago.

According to the US Wheat Associates, Taiwan is the seventh-largest importer of US wheat, with annual imports of an averaged of about 1 million tonnes a year.

Hsieh declined to comment on reports of possible adverse reaction among suppliers caused by the rejection of the consignment as speculated in Taiwanese media. He said that the impact on wheat supply would be "minimal" and that he expected shipments of US wheat to continue.

The reports suggested that US shippers would baulk at sending wheat consignments to Taiwan, which is virtually reliant on imports to meet its milling needs, for fear of its cargo being rejected.

"For now, we hope that in future suppliers can meet our regulations," said Hsieh, who gave no further details on the plan.