Taiwan can finally export the non-transgenic papaya to the Japanese market following an eight-year effort in designing the appropriate heat treatment for local papaya, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday, citing an announcement made by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries.
The nation's papaya was previously denied entry by the Japanese government due to concerns over the potential spread of pests of citrus and other subtropical fruits, according to the council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
In Taiwan, the Oriental fruit fly and the melon fruit fly are common pests associated with certain fruits, including papaya, the bureau said.
In March, 1997, the government conducted infestation measures involving a vapor heat treatment technology which was developed by researchers at the bureau's branch in Taichung and sent the results to Japan. The reports said that eggs and larvae inside papaya can be destroyed at temperatures higher than 47.2?C. Japanese officials, however, demanded further evidence.
"Japan takes pest control very seriously," Chang Shu-young (
"In February, Japanese inspectors visited Taiwan to observe the operation of vapor heat treatment in a bid to recognize the effectiveness of the technology," he added.
Currently, vapor heat is an approved treatment for non-transgenic papaya. In addition to the factory in Taichung, Chang said three new facilities will be established in southern Taiwan in order to boost the daily capacity of treating papaya before it is exported. The expanded facilities will allow for about 60 tonnes of papaya to be treated a day.
Taiwanese papaya was exported to Japan up until 1975. However, papaya ring spot virus soon devastated the industry. For this, several breeding programs were launched to improve its quality.
Currently, Taiwan produces 140,000 tonnes of papaya annually, valued at NT$2 billion. About 85 percent of Taiwan's papaya is classified as "Tainung No.2," which has a high tolerance to the ring spot virus.
Agricultural authorities have been expanding overseas markets in recent years to help absorb a surplus of the fruit, including export to many Southeast Asian countries as well as China.
How bid the Japanese market will be for Taiwanese papaya remains uncertain. "If we can export about 3,000 tonnes of papaya to Japan annually, this will be a boon for thousands of Taiwanese farmers," Chang said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS