TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China's ban on import of seafood imports from over 100 Taiwanese businesses is expected to hit the squid industry particularly hard, with an estimated loss of NT$3.6 billion (US$117.6 million) in squid export sales.

Council of Agriculture (COA) website figures suggest that before the pandemic in 2019, Taiwan exported 156,000 metric tons of aquatic products to China worth US$7.88 billion. China's ban on the import of grouper, Japanese horse mackerel, and largehead hairtail from Taiwan resulted in a loss of NT$2.5 billion in export sales, accounting for about 30% of Taiwan's seafood exports to China.

In 2019, 9,979 tons of grouper were exported to China, with an export value of NT$2 billion. There were 3,283 metric tons of Japanese horse mackerel exported to China worth N$94 million, while there were 16,249 tons of largehead hairtail exported worth NT$359.8 million. The total value of exports of these three varieties of fish is nearly NT$2.5 billion.

On Thursday (Dec. 8), the COA confirmed that China has rejected all but one of the applications of over 100 businesses that submitted supplementary paperwork for export permissions. The main products barred this time around are squid, Pacific saury, and East Asian fourfinger threadfin.

The COA said Taiwan exported 75,152 metric tons of squid to China last year, with an export value of NT$3.6 billion. As for Pacific saury, Taiwan exported 10,853 metric tons worth NT$248.7 million to China, while it exported 7,029 tons of East Asian fourfinger threadfin valued at NT$774.8 million.

This means a combined potential loss in exports to China of 93,034 metric tons, valued at NT$4.7 billion.