The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has announced plans to ease restrictions on four pesticides commonly used in Japan on strawberry crops. This move follows frequent halts of Japanese strawberry imports at Taiwan's border due to non-compliance with the country's pesticide residue standards. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, the South Korean Mission in Taipei, and BASF Taiwan requested Taiwan to lift the ban on four pesticides – acequinocyl, chlorfenapyr, flonicamid, and mefentriflucon azole – when used on strawberries.
The TFDA plans to raise the allowed chemical residual levels for these pesticides, seeking public feedback on the drafted revisions. The proposed changes include increasing the residual levels to 1.0 parts per million (ppm) for acequinocyl, 0.5 ppm for chlorfenapyr, 0.7 ppm for flonicamid, and 1.5 ppm for mefentriflucon azole. The easing of the ban is expected to address challenges faced by Japanese strawberry imports and follows a one-month ban imposed by the TFDA on five Japanese strawberry suppliers in January 2023, with 4.63% of shipments failing border checks since November 2023.