Huang Chin-jung, chairman of the non-profit National Animal Industry Foundation, who recently led a Taiwan delegation to visit agricultural operations on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, said governments of various levels are striving to root out foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from Taiwan's farms in the hope that the disease will be eradicated once and for all within a couple of years, meaning that Taiwanese-produced pork will again be allowed access to Japan's meat markets.

Taiwan's pork exports have been barred from Japan since 1997 after an outbreak of FMD on animal farms around the island that same year.

Under concerted government efforts, some areas, including the offshore county of Penghu, have successfully eradicated FMD through organic means instead of using vaccination, Huang said, adding that all animal farms in Taiwan are expected to stop vaccinating their cultured livestock by August 2008 -- at the same time also paving the way for Taiwan to become an FMD-free country, Huang noted.

During last week's trip to Hokkaido, Huang said, members of the Taiwan delegation of animal farm operators met with their Japanese counterparts and were told that the farmers associations from Hokkaido have enjoyed brisk businesses exporting their produce and output to Taiwan, including Chinese yams, dairy products, grape wine and other agricultural products.