News » 25.08.2025 - Taisugar to lease California site to Taiwanese orchid growers after tariffs

Taiwan Sugar Corp. (Taisugar) has agreed to provide Taiwanese orchid businesses access to its production base in California, the United States, Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said Monday.

The offer from the state-run enterprise came after a new U.S. baseline tariff of 20 percent on Taiwanese goods, which affects Taiwan's orchid industry, took effect on Aug. 7. Chen said that the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) will assess whether Taisugar's equipment needs upgrading and how much rent will be charged.

The minister made the remarks at a Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) press conference. Tseng Chun-pi (曾俊弼), secretary general of the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA), told CNA that unstable shipping schedules since the COVID-19 pandemic raised defect rates for large seedlings sent to the United States.

He said growers had long hoped to establish a production base there and described Taisugar's California orchid garden as a suitable site.

"Although large seedlings exported to the United States are still subject to a 20 percent tariff, if we can continue production in the U.S. and, through forcing flowering, cultivate the seedlings to the near-blooming stage, at least the defect rate will be under our own control," Tseng said.
 

Source: www.floraldaily.com

« Back