Taiwan's agricultural authorities will maintain a ban on imports of US apples after the US failed to improve its quarantine measures, reported the Taiwan Times.
The Taiwanese Council of Agriculture suspended imports of US apples after codling moth larvae were found in a shipment in December.
The US promised to adopt emergency measures, saying Taiwan's market is extremely important to its apple farmers.
"But our evaluation indicates that the US investigation and their quarantine measures submitted in late January still fail to meet our requirements," Chang Shih-yang, an official with the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection, said yesterday.
"What they have done is far short of our expectations," Chang said. "They should have detailed the steps they would take in their work plan."
Taiwan imported 10,800 tonnes of apples last year as of December 20, with 52 per cent coming from the US.
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