Abstract

Exploring the historical development of the dairy industry in Taiwan during the post-war period with help from the US, this article examines the dairy policies of the Nationalist government and the influences of US-Aid dairy products on Taiwanese local dairy industries. Developing on the foundation of dairy industries established during the colonial period, post-war dairy farming and dairy companies expanded, but were reliant on grants and loans provided by US-Aid. Since the late 1950s, however, competition between native and international dairy industries became intense. This study argues that the two decades between 1945 and 1965 can be divided into three phases, based on government policies and relations between native diary industries and international producers: (1) depression (1945-1953), which witnessed the depression of local dairy industry and the growth of demand for milk; (2) dependence and revival (1954-1963), in which local dairy industries revived by means of the financial and technical support from US-Aid and the government; (3) competition (1964-1965), in which the production cost of native industries remained high and un-competitive with international dairy products. While the cheap or free dairy products provided by the US-Aid served as protein supplements for Taiwanese people, the U.S. also made profits by producing “recombined milk” with skimmed milk powder, expanding the dairy market in Taiwan.