US Peanuts Zero Tariff: Ministry of Agriculture Guides Crop Conversion, Sweet Potato Merchants Welcome Move
Following the Taiwan-US trade agreement, which will impose zero tariffs on US peanuts, Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture announced support for domestic peanut farmers to switch to edamame or sweet potato cultivation. Su Jia-yi, chairman of Qiongpu Cooperative Farm in Yunlin County, welcomed this crop conversion support due to high domestic sweet potato demand.
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- 📰 Published: April 29, 2026 at 18:11
- 🔍 Collected: April 29, 2026 at 18:31 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 30, 2026 at 00:14 (5h 43m after Collected)
Central News Agency (CNA) reporter Jiang Yijing, Yunlin County, 29th. According to the Taiwan-US Equivalent Trade Agreement (ART), US peanuts will be imported with zero tariffs. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that once implemented, it will affect 20-30% of domestic peanut production and will assist farmers in switching to edamame or sweet potato cultivation. Su Jia-yi, chairman of Qiongpu Cooperative Farm, expressed welcome.
Qiongpu Cooperative Farm in Yunlin County has 250 contract farmers, with a contracted area of 350 hectares and an annual output of about 7,200 metric tons. In addition to fresh sweet potatoes, they have also developed sweet potato chips, instant drinks, sweet potato mochi, baked sweet potatoes, and sweet potato floss products, establishing the "Uncle A-Gan Sweet Potato" brand. It is not only popular in Taiwan but has also entered the international market.
Su Jia-yi told CNA reporters that the Ministry of Agriculture called today to discuss supporting measures for peanut farmers to switch crops. Both sides only had a preliminary discussion, and further detailed discussions will be held in subsequent meetings.
Su Jia-yi mentioned that peanut cultivation is different from sweet potato cultivation. Peanuts are mechanized, but sweet potato harvesting still relies on manual labor, and the field management of the two crops is different, requiring farmers to re-learn.
The Ministry of Agriculture intends to assist peanut farmers in switching to edamame or sweet potato cultivation. Su Jia-yi expressed welcome to this because of the large demand for domestic sweet potatoes.
Su Jia-yi pointed out that domestic sweet potatoes are harvested only once a year, concentrated in large quantities from January to March each year. With cold chain equipment, the preservation of sweet potatoes is extended, and now they are stably supplied to the consumer market throughout the year.
However, with the increase in planting area, cold chain storage also needs to be expanded. Su Jia-yi hopes that the government will continue to support and also guide processing companies to develop more sweet potato series products to diversify products, meet different market demands, and expand market share.
In recent years, Su Jia-yi has brought his own products to the Tokyo Food Exhibition and Singapore Food Exhibition. The overseas market is still dominated by processed foods such as sweet potato chips and baked sweet potatoes.
According to the Council of Agriculture's briefing, in recent years, changes in domestic eating habits have led more and more people to pay attention to health preservation, replacing rice with sweet potatoes when consuming starches. Currently, the domestic annual demand for sweet potatoes is 230,000 metric tons, and the supply is insufficient. The sweet potato production in 2024 was 218,000 metric tons. (Editor: Zhang Yajing) 1150429
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Qiongpu Cooperative Farm in Yunlin County has 250 contract farmers, with a contracted area of 350 hectares and an annual output of about 7,200 metric tons. In addition to fresh sweet potatoes, they have also developed sweet potato chips, instant drinks, sweet potato mochi, baked sweet potatoes, and sweet potato floss products, establishing the "Uncle A-Gan Sweet Potato" brand. It is not only popular in Taiwan but has also entered the international market.
Su Jia-yi told CNA reporters that the Ministry of Agriculture called today to discuss supporting measures for peanut farmers to switch crops. Both sides only had a preliminary discussion, and further detailed discussions will be held in subsequent meetings.
Su Jia-yi mentioned that peanut cultivation is different from sweet potato cultivation. Peanuts are mechanized, but sweet potato harvesting still relies on manual labor, and the field management of the two crops is different, requiring farmers to re-learn.
The Ministry of Agriculture intends to assist peanut farmers in switching to edamame or sweet potato cultivation. Su Jia-yi expressed welcome to this because of the large demand for domestic sweet potatoes.
Su Jia-yi pointed out that domestic sweet potatoes are harvested only once a year, concentrated in large quantities from January to March each year. With cold chain equipment, the preservation of sweet potatoes is extended, and now they are stably supplied to the consumer market throughout the year.
However, with the increase in planting area, cold chain storage also needs to be expanded. Su Jia-yi hopes that the government will continue to support and also guide processing companies to develop more sweet potato series products to diversify products, meet different market demands, and expand market share.
In recent years, Su Jia-yi has brought his own products to the Tokyo Food Exhibition and Singapore Food Exhibition. The overseas market is still dominated by processed foods such as sweet potato chips and baked sweet potatoes.
According to the Council of Agriculture's briefing, in recent years, changes in domestic eating habits have led more and more people to pay attention to health preservation, replacing rice with sweet potatoes when consuming starches. Currently, the domestic annual demand for sweet potatoes is 230,000 metric tons, and the supply is insufficient. The sweet potato production in 2024 was 218,000 metric tons. (Editor: Zhang Yajing) 1150429
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news in real time.
The text, pictures, and audio/video of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.