Taiwan's farm ministry is rolling out a "Taiwan Peanut" label to protect local growers from cheap imports — good news for Taiwanese farmers, bad news for US exporters hoping to win shelf space.

• Local peanuts hold about 75% of Taiwan's market, and the label is meant to keep it that way.
• The push comes ahead of a Taiwan-US trade deal that would let American peanuts in tariff-free.
• Lab testing of a peanut's chemical makeup will prove where it was grown, with regular inspections to back it up.
• Farmers can lose the label for mixing in imported nuts or failing to show where their crop came from.
• Simple products like shelled peanuts and peanut candy come first; processed foods follow later.

Outlook: The ministry wants its testing methods officially approved by year-end, setting up a consumer-loyalty fight just as the trade deal opens the door to US, Brazilian and Argentine peanuts.