CHINA / Taiwan, HK, Macao

Chinese mainland to crack down on Taiwan fruit fraud
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-05-18 10:56

Authorities on China's mainland are accusing some fruit growers and importers of sticking "product of Taiwan" stickers on mainland-grown fruit, an official with the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council said here Wednesday.

Liu Junchuan, deputy director with the office's economic bureau, said Taiwan fruits are fetching higher prices than mainland fruit so some fruit growers and importers are trying to earn illegal profits by applying fraudulent labels.

He said the mainland authorities have taken measures to crack down on such fraud and the regulations and laws of the mainland which target fake products can also be applied to dealing with the fraudulently-labelled Taiwan fruits.

The mainland scrapped tariffs on 15 varieties of Taiwan fruit since August 1 last year, and decided to give the same preferential policy to 19 types of Taiwan-grown vegetables and seafood last April.

Lu Houlin, deputy director with the propagation department under the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said fruits are required to origin clearly marked, and consumers should pay close attention to labels.