Taiwan and Australia are partnering to grow high-quality lychees year-round, a Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) official said on Friday.
The idea is to take advantage of the climates in the two countries to extend the lychees’ short growing season, which has led to an imbalance between supply and demand, said Chang Jer-way (張哲瑋), a senior horticulturist at the Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Branch.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed last year with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the institute sent four varieties of baby lychee plants to Australia in September, which were placed in a year-long quarantine at a facility in Canberra.
Once they pass the quarantine period, the lychees will be planted in Queensland, Chang said.
“We hope to create a year-round supply of Taiwanese lychees through cooperation with a country in the southern hemisphere, and perhaps apply that model to other fruits,” Chang said.
This is the first time that Taiwan has tested this business model, and if the partnership works out, Taiwan could profit through royalties and elevate its global profile as a high-quality lychee exporter, said Chang.
The four varieties being tested in Australia are strains of Tainung Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 7, known as “Rose Red,” “Lucky,” “Ruby” and “Early Big” respectively.
Australian Office in Taipei Representative Catherine Raper said that the project was anticipated by her nation, noting that it won TARI an award from Queensland at the Australia-Taiwan Business Awards this month, she said.
The partnership with Taiwan complements Australia’s own national interests, Raper said, noting that it is also the first time Australia has launched this type of agricultural partnership with another country.
“There will be Taiwanese varieties grown in Queensland, Australia, and then exported to Southeast Asia. So this grows Taiwan’s export capacity and ensures that there is year-round supply to the market,” Raper said.
According to TARI, Taiwan grows about 90,000 tonnes of lychees a year, mostly from May to July. While they cost around NT$40 (US$1.33) per kilogram in Taiwan, they can cost around NT$100 per kilogram in other nations.
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