Taiwan’s heavy reliance on cabbage imports from Vietnam is fueling concerns that Chinese-grown produce could be rerouted through Vietnam and sold under a different country-of-origin label, particularly amid an onslaught of reports linked to food-safety problems in China.
The practice, commonly referred to as “origin washing,” involves routing or repackaging goods through a third country so they can be presented as originating there. The issue first gained attention following reports of produce allegedly being treated with formaldehyde to prolong freshness in China. Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has said fresh or chilled cabbage from China is prohibited from entering Taiwan and that no Chinese cabbage imports had been recorded through Aug. 25.
Though authorities have since stepped up border inspections of cabbage and kimchi products, including targeted testing for formaldehyde regardless of their declared country of origin, questions remain over whether Chinese vegetables could enter Taiwan indirectly through Vietnam and other Asian countries.
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Concerns over ‘origin washing’
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture, the country imported 48,817 metric tons of fresh or chilled cabbage from Vietnam in 2025, valued at about US$20 million. That far exceeded imports from Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, the United States, and Japan.
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Much of the baby cabbage currently available in Taiwan is imported because domestic production is outside its peak season, said Zhong Ming-chuan, a senior technical specialist with the ministry’s International Affairs Department. “Because Chinese products theoretically cannot be imported,” Zhong said, Vietnamese produce has become a major source for the Taiwanese market.
But Taiwanese authorities acknowledge there are limits to what they can verify once goods move through overseas supply chains. If vegetables exported to Taiwan carry the required phytosanitary and country-of-origin certificates from Vietnamese authorities, Taiwan generally relies on those documents to establish where the products were produced.
“We also have to trust the certificates issued by the Vietnamese authorities,” Zhong noted, adding that part of the concern is whether vegetables grown in China could potentially be shipped to Vietnam, repackaged or otherwise relabeled, and then exported to Taiwan as Vietnamese produce, a practice commonly described in Taiwan as “origin washing.”
A trader involved in vegetable transshipment told Sanlih News, “The boxes won’t display anything related to China. Some even use Vietnamese text, as if they are deliberately trying to conceal the origin.” The trader also noted, “Some of it is sold to schools for institutional catering. Some may also be cabbage used for processing, including for making dumplings.”
A slew of pesticide violations
A review of TFDA border inspection records cited by Sanlih News found 26 pesticide violations involving cabbage imported from Vietnam over the past five years. The report said five of those cases involved pesticides prohibited in Vietnam and reportedly unavailable for purchase there, adding to questions over where some of the produce may have originated.
One Taiwan-based businessman familiar with Vietnamese agriculture told the outlet, “This isn’t Vietnamese produce. This is Chinese produce.” Taiwanese authorities have since also begun exploring additional measures to verify origin claims. In April, Agriculture Minister Chen Jun-ji said authorities planned to develop a comparison database and incorporate isotope analysis into inspections of high-risk imported vegetables, using scientific methods to help determine their geographical origin.
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