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Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released 31 registration forms and inventory checklists that Taiwanese exporters had to fill in before they can export their products to China.

Some of the forms require businesses to disclose the ingredient ratio used in their food products as well as the preparation method, according to a report by Taipei Times.

Issues with application forms

The release of the list of import registration documents on Wednesday (Dec. 14) comes after a previous suspension of Taiwanese beer and alcohol beverages, as well as the public announcement of a popular Taiwanese pastry chain saying they are halting their exports to China due to the import requirements.

The bakery had earlier said they were required to submit the amount of ingredients, such as sugar and cream, that go into their products.

Besides requesting for the proportion of ingredients, the application forms also required companies to fill in some other production details, such as the processing method, including the time required for heating or cooling, the temperature needed, as well as other details that involve "marinating, dehydrating and packaging".

One of the forms (number 5 in the list) also indicate some other required fields that ask for company storage capacity and annual production capacity.

Over 2,000 Taiwanese companies' applications were rejected

According to the Taipei Times, the import suspensions have affected 2,409 Taiwanese companies, with the Chinese customs saying their applications were incomplete.

Due to the change in requirements which mandated them to disclose information that they consider as company secrets, some companies have decided not to submit the additional documents required. Instead, they are looking to export their products to other countries.

Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare, Hsueh Jui-yuan, said foreign companies could submit the application forms online, with the fields on ingredient portions being optional, Taiwan's national broadcaster, Radio Taiwan International, reported.

However, Taiwanese exporters appear to be an exception, as they need to submit hardcopy registration forms that do not indicate these fields as optional, which meant they had to fill in all the required information.

He added that companies might differ in their interpretation of the information required of them, and that while some might think that the ingredient proportion constitutes a recipe, others might not think the same way.

Differing views towards import requirements

Director-General of the Republic of China Association of Bakeries, Chou Tzu-liang, told Focus Taiwan that bakeries have lamented the troublesome process of needing to fill in ingredient proportions in percentages.

This has allegedly been going on since the Mid-Autumn Festival in late September 2022.

Chou added that certain bakeries chose not to reveal the information, considering them as trade secrets, while others who wanted to gain the trust of Chinese authorities did so anyway.

Those who chose not to fill in the Chinese import registration forms turned to alternative markets instead.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT), however, have have criticised the FDA and Council of Agriculture for failing to assist Taiwanese companies in completing the import registration forms, according to the Taipei Times. They also questioned whether the required information by the forms really amounted to company secrets, despite companies having said this themselves.

KMT legislator, Cheng Li-wun, also told Chinese media Sina that some Taiwanese media outlets are sensationalising Chia Te Bakery's claims that the import documentation required the pastry chain to disclose their company secrets. She accused them of distorting the truth and stirring up divisive elements in society.

Nevertheless, the Director-General of FDA, Wu Shou-mei, said on Dec. 13 that it is not unreasonable for customs authorities to request for ingredients of food products, but added that the information that Chinese government is asking for is beyond what is considered reasonable, Taipei Times reported.

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Top image via Getty/The Washington Post & Annabelle Chih