A milestone in animal husbandry! The Philippines agrees to sell Taiwanese dairy cattle to the Philippines

my country’s breeding cattle will be exported for the first time! The Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Service of the Ministry of Agriculture announced today (12th) that after two years of negotiations, the Philippines has agreed on the 9th that Taiwanese breeding cattle can be exported to the Philippines. The Animal Inspection Institute pointed out that the breeding cattle that can be exported to the Philippines are Holstein cows, which are dairy cattle. my country has improved the breeding of Holstein cattle that originally grew in temperate zones to adapt to the tropical high-humidity climate, and now can export breeding cattle. This is a major milestone in Taiwan's livestock industry.

The National Defense Inspection Administration stated that it received a notification from the Chinese representative in the Philippines on the 9th that the Philippines has approved the import of Chinese breeding cattle. After Chinese breeding pigs can be exported to the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries, my country’s breeding cattle have also opened the export market for the first time.

Fu Xueli, deputy director of the National Defense Inspection Service, pointed out that it is not easy to negotiate the export quarantine of live livestock animals such as breeding cattle. my country applied to the Philippines in 2024, and the Philippines sent personnel to Taiwan to inspect the farms in November of the same year. After continuous negotiations between the two parties, the Philippines added Tainan's Meigui Ranch and Changhua Hesheng Ranch to the list of live cattle exportable in May 2025, completing the qualification review of the ranches.

Fu Xueli said that the two sides subsequently negotiated many times on the quarantine conditions recorded on the quarantine certificate for exported animals. With the assistance of the Chinese Representative Office in the Philippines, the Philippines finally formally agreed to this before the National Day holiday this year.

Huang Zhenfang, director of the Animal Research Institute, further explained that my country has been developing dairy agriculture for many years. With the improvement and selection of varieties, Holstein dairy cows, which mainly grow in temperate zones, are well adapted to Taiwan's high temperature and high humidity environment and produce abundant milk. my country and the Philippines have many years of experience in agricultural cooperation. The country's pastures are extensively managed, and the milk self-sufficiency rate is only less than 5%. The Philippines wants to develop dairy agriculture. , focusing on Taiwan, which is also an island with high temperatures and humidity. The breeding cattle to be exported this time are also Holstein breeding cattle raised in Taiwan. He emphasized that Taiwan has improved the dairy cattle that could only grow in temperate zones to adapt to tropical climates and maintain production efficiency. Now, breeding cattle can be exported. "This is really a remarkable achievement and a very important milestone for Taiwan's dairy industry."

Huang Zhenfang said that Taiwan's dairy industry has not only bred Holstein dairy cows that can adapt to the humid tropical climate, but also has excellent feeding and management technology. In addition to exporting breeding cattle to the Philippines in the future, it also hopes to export pasture management robots and other automated facilities developed by the institute to the Philippines simultaneously.