農產品市場交易法

The Central Competent Authority shall, in accordance with national guidelines for agriculture production and marketing, formulate national plans for the production, marketing, and international trade of agricultural products. Local competent authorities shall devise annual programs for implementing the production and marketing plans.

The Central Competent Authority shall monitor and report on international circumstances in agriculture production and marketing, as well as international market prices of agricultural products. Special municipal, county, or city governments shall monitor and report on domestic circumstances of agriculture production and marketing, along with domestic market prices of agricultural products.

1No one shall engage in the monopolization of the trade in agricultural products, price manipulation, or intentional deception regarding the quality or quantity of products to gain an unfair advantage or disrupt the orderly conduct of market transactions.

2Additionally, no one shall deliberately disseminate rumors or false information that could impact the prices of traded agricultural products or the orderly conduct of market transactions.

1Joint marketing of agricultural products may be performed by a farmers’ organization, taking two forms as following:

21.Wholesaling, which involves supplying for the purpose of reselling or processing;

32.Retailing, which involves supplying directly to consumers.

4In cases where farmers' organizations lack joint marketing arrangements for certain agricultural products or administrative divisions, farmers or agricultural production and marketing groups may independently undertake such efforts, with the government providing active assistance and guidance.

1Farmers’ organizations engaged in joint marketing and distribution adjustments must receive assistance and guidance from respective central and local competent authorities. The regulations governing these organizations’ assistance and guidance, incentives, joint marketing organization, training, distribution adjustments, production and marketing forms, cessation of operations, and monitoring shall be formulated by the Central Competent Authority.

2Agricultural products undergoing joint marketing by farmers’ organizations should be given priority at agricultural wholesale markets.

3The aforementioned joint marketing may be executed through contracted production or supply between a farmers’ organization, its members, and agricultural wholesale markets.

4Respective competent authorities shall award farmers’ organizations that exhibit outstanding performance in joint marketing.

1Farmers' organizations may impose necessary expenses for joint marketing on participating agricultural producers; the fee- charging standards shall be reported to special municipal, county, or city competent authorities for approval.

2To apportion accidental losses incurred during joint marketing of agricultural products, farmers' organizations may devise a method to collect mutual aid funds from the proceeds payable to the agricultural producers; this method is subject to the submission to and approval by special municipal, county, or city competent authorities.

1The land required for packing houses used by farmers’ organizations for joint marketing shall be regarded as agricultural land.

2The land referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be used exclusively for packing houses for the joint marketing of agricultural products, and the house tax thereon shall be reduced by 50 percent.

Farmers or farmers’ organizations engaged in joint marketing are exempted from stamp duties and business taxes when selling their agricultural products.

1Agricultural wholesale markets are deemed public utilities, and their establishment, as well as the scope of their business operations, shall be planned by respective competent authorities and may be funded through government budgets.

2The plans proposed by local competent authorities are subject to submission to and approval by the Central Competent Authority.

1Entities eligible to operate agricultural wholesale markets are limited to the categories outlined in the following subparagraphs:

21.Farmers’ organizations.

32.Legal persons jointly funded by farmers’ organizations.

43.Legal persons jointly funded by farmers’ organizations and government agencies/institutions or township/city offices.

54.Legal persons jointly funded by farmers and distributors of agricultural products.

65.Legal persons funded by government agencies/institutions or township/city offices.

76.Legal persons funded jointly by government agencies/institutions or township/city offices, farmers’ organizations or farmers, and distributors of agricultural products.

8Entities operating agricultural wholesale markets shall not be for profit; their organization, except for the category in Subparagraph 1 in the previous paragraph, is subject to the provisions of a Company Limited by Shares under the Company Act, mutatis mutandis. However, legal persons under the categories in Subparagraphs 2, 3, 5, and 6 are exempted from the requirements for the number and qualifications of founders specified in Article 128 of the Company Act.

9Agricultural wholesale markets operated by entities under Subparagraphs 1 and 2 in Paragraph 1 shall be given priority. Those operated by entities under Subparagraph 4 in Paragraph 1 are not eligible for benefits specified in Articles 12, 15, and 17, including funds, land access, and tax reduction.

1The establishment of an agricultural wholesale market requires the submission of a proposal to the special municipal, county, or city competent authority for approval before commencement.

2After establishment, the operating entity may initiate operations only after registering with and obtaining permits from the local competent authority. Operations shall not be halted or canceled without prior approval of the local competent authority, except in cases of force majeure.

3The local competent authority may revoke approval for establishing an agricultural wholesale market if the entity deviates from the approved proposal, except when such deviation is approved based on valid reasons. Regulations governing personnel, financial, and business management, as well as utilization and management of market cash balance, purchaser transaction suspension durations, cancellation of purchaser’s permits, and other relevant matters are stipulated by the Central Competent Authority.

1Public land required for agricultural wholesale markets shall be provided by the government on a priority basis by way of lease, sale at the promulgated price, or other forms of cooperation. Where private land is required, the special municipal, county, or city competent authority shall facilitate purchase, initiate legal procedures for land expropriation, arrange for leasing, or acquire such land through other forms of cooperation; agricultural land as specified by law may also be utilized.

2Private land leased or acquired through other forms of cooperation under the preceding paragraph shall be limited to land owned by state-run enterprises and shall be subject to the approval of the Central Competent Authority; the term of use shall not be less than twenty years.

3The land referred to in Paragraph 1 shall be used exclusively for the establishment and operation of agricultural wholesale markets; any change in its use requires prior approval from the competent authority.

In cases where the lands, buildings, and/or facilities utilized by an agricultural wholesale market are provided by the government or a farmers’ organization, the usage fee shall be determined by the special municipal, county, or city competent authority within the cap set by the Central Competent Authority.

Agricultural wholesale markets receive a 50% deduction on house tax, land value tax, or farmland tax for lands and buildings.

1Anyone falling within any of the following subparagraphs is eligible to register as a supplier to agricultural wholesale markets:

21.Farmers.

32.Farmers’ organizations.

43.Agricultural corporations.

54.Agricultural producers approved by the special municipal, county, or city competent authority.

65.Distributors.

76.Importers of agricultural products.

8Suppliers falling under Subparagraphs 2 to 6 in the preceding paragraph are required to maintain transaction records. When necessary, the special municipal, county, or city competent authority may request access to those records, and the supplier shall not refuse or interfere with such requests.

9Farmers not registered as suppliers under Subparagraph 1 may supply their agricultural products to an agricultural wholesale market using their personal identification card. Agricultural wholesale markets are prohibited from setting a minimum supply amount for individual farmers.

1Anyone applying to become a purchaser at an agricultural wholesale market shall submit a specified amount of performance bond to the market and shall obtain a purchaser’s permit.

2The specific amount of the performance bond shall be determined by each agricultural wholesale market, subject to the submission to and approval by the local competent authority.

Suppliers or purchasers in an agricultural wholesale market are prohibited from engaging in both purchase and supply businesses within the same market.

1The initial wholesale transaction of agricultural products shall take place in the local agricultural wholesale market unless the following exceptions apply:

21.Products involved in joint marketing by a farmers’ organization for direct supply to export or processing.

32.Products retailed by farmers.

43.In areas where an agricultural wholesale market is not yet established.

54.Farmers designated or approved by a project of the special municipal, county, or city competent authority for direct supply to export or processing.

1Anyone purchasing agricultural products from farmers in districts without an established agricultural wholesale market must carry a distributor’s permit, subject to inspection by the competent authority when deemed necessary.

2To obtain the distributor’s permit referred to in the preceding paragraph, an application shall be made to the special municipal, county, or city competent authority, with no set cap on the number of permitted distributors.

3Details related to the distributor’s permit, including application procedures, criteria and required capital amount, validity periods, and available supports and incentives, shall be prescribed by regulations established by the Central Competent Authority for assistance, guidance, and management.

To ensure a stable product supply, agricultural wholesale markets may establish supply contracts, marketing programs with guaranteed prices, financing arrangements, or other applicable measures based on actual needs.

In the initial wholesale transaction of agricultural products, when the agricultural wholesale market issues sales vouchers on behalf of farmers or farmers’ organizations, they shall be exempted from stamp duties and business taxes.

Transaction modes of agricultural wholesale markets include auctioning, price negotiation, price marking, and bidding. Suppliers may specify the lowest transaction price.

1Suppliers are, in principle, responsible for grading and packaging agricultural products sold at an agricultural wholesale market. The market may assume this responsibility for products not graded or packaged by suppliers, with associated fees deducted from the payment for the products.

2Regulations concerning grading and packaging standards, periodic inspections, incentives for improvement, and the purchase and usage of packing containers for agricultural products shall be established by the Central Competent Authority.

Agricultural wholesale markets may impose a management fee on both suppliers and purchasers, with the fee-charging standards subject to review and approval by the Central Competent Authority.

Agricultural wholesale markets offering grading, packaging, sorting, refrigerating, freezing, ice making, storage, transportation, electric slaughtering, or other related facilities may charge users fees based on fee-charging standards reviewed and approved by the special municipal, county, or city competent authority.

Operators of agricultural wholesale markets must obtain approval from the competent authority to engage in other businesses. The operations and accounting of such businesses shall be independent, and the competent authority may conduct inspections at any time.

Agricultural wholesale markets shall publicly announce today’s transaction prices and quantities for its own transactions and those of other important markets, at a prominent location within the market.

For unsatisfactory operation of an agricultural wholesale market, the special municipal, county, or city competent authority may issue an order for improvement or rectification. When necessary, the local competent authority may request the Central Competent Authority to mandate the market’s reorganization, merger by operation of the law, or cancellation of the operation permit.

Any retail market engaged in agricultural product marketing shall register with the special municipal, county, or city competent authority.

Farmers or farmers’ organizations may enter into contracts with retailers or retailers’ organizations to supply agricultural products required by the latter in districts where no agricultural wholesale market has been established yet.

Special municipal, county, and city competent authorities shall assist, guide, and manage the retailing of agricultural products to safeguard public health, ensure production- marketing coordination, and promote fair pricing and profitability.

1Anyone violating the provisions specified in Paragraph 1, Article 14 shall be subjected to a fine of more than NT$300,000 but less than NT$30,000,000, and their permits shall be cancelled if applicable.

2Anyone violating the provisions specified in Paragraph 1, Article 6 shall be subjected to a fine of more than NT$60,000 but less than NT$300,000, and their permits shall be cancelled if applicable.

3Anyone violating the provisions specified in Paragraph 2, Article 6, in a manner that disrupts the orderly marketing of agricultural products, shall be subjected to a fine of more than NT$60,000 but less than NT$300,000.

Anyone violating the provisions specified in Article 20, Paragraph 1 of Article 22, Article 29, or Article 32 shall be subjected to a fine of more than NT$6,000 but less than NT $30,000, and their permits may be canceled if applicable.

1Anyone falling under any of the following situations shall be subjected to a fine of more than NT$3,000 but less than NT $18,000, and their permits may be canceled if applicable:

21.Violating the provisions specified in Paragraph 2, Article 18.

32.Violating the provisions specified in Article 21.

43.Allowing others to use their distributor’s permit or purchaser’s permit.

Penalties stipulated in the Act shall be imposed by the special municipal, county, or city competent authority after conducting an investigation.

Anyone who refuses to pay the fines stipulated in this Act will be transferred to the court for compulsory execution.

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The enforcement rules of this Act shall be established by the Central Competent Authority.

The effective date of this Act shall be determined by the Executive Yuan through an order.