On Feb. 25, China unilaterally announced that starting in March, the importation of pineapples from Taiwan would be banned.
On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the pineapple ban was followed by a notice from the Chinese General Administration of Customs that the importation of custard apples and wax apples from Taiwan would be suspended from the next day, citing pest concerns.
It is neither pineapple, custard apple nor wax apple season; importation of these fruits ended in April, and the timing of the pest concern notification raises questions about whether there are real pest concerns or there is a different motive.
Because of the proximity of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the positive image of Taiwan’s agricultural products and their high acceptance among Chinese consumers, China has long been the main market for the nation’s agricultural products, buying more than 20 percent of the exports at a value of more than US$1 billion. The top three fruit exports are pineapples, custard apples — or more precisely mainly atemoya, a hybrid of custard apple and cherimoya — and wax apples, so it is not surprising that the ban on pineapples was followed by a ban on the other two fruits.
A lot of work must be done to mitigate the effects of the ban before custard apples and wax apples reach the market in December.
The first step should be a direct response, including specific improvements of the safety management of orchards, post-harvest handling and inspection, batch-by-batch quarantine before shipment, and the establishment of a production and sales history tracing system.
The second step should be export diversification. This sounds like a cliche, but Taiwanese custard apples and wax apples are unique on the world market, so this is an opportunity to promote these fruits in Japan and Singapore, or even the US and Canada, and to invite overseas traders and distributors to learn more about them and taste them.
Third, new products should be developed to enter new markets. In addition to being eaten fresh, custard apples can be frozen or used to make ice cream, and wax apples can be dried, or processed into jam or syrup. These products would stand out.
Moreover, processed or frozen products can be exported to China without quarantine requirements.
Fourth, the Council of Agriculture should initiate a NT$1 billion (US$36.06 million) fund for international promotion of custard apples and wax apples, new product development, and transportation and cold chain subsidies as it did to address the pineapple ban. These funds would not necessarily be used up, because the NT$560 million invested after the pineapple ban was enough to support the market and diversify exports.
Finally, agricultural insurances should once more be promoted. Four years ago, the council started promoting custard apple income insurance to mitigate natural disasters and price risks, but due to good weather conditions, good harvests and price stability over the past few years, farmers have increasingly ignored the importance of insurance, and currently only 3.8 percent of land for atemoya cultivation is covered by insurance, while for wax apples only climate-indexed insurance — which does not cover price risks — is available.
The recent ban will hopefully lead to a greater emphasis on fundamental export inspection, and further lead to the development of new products, the diversification of risk and added value, and the expansion of agricultural income insurance.
Yang Min-hsien is a professor at Feng Chia University and former president of the Rural Economics Society of Taiwan.
Translated by Perry Svensson
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said on Monday that it would be announcing its mayoral nominees for New Taipei City, Yilan County and Chiayi City on March 11, after which it would begin talks with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to field joint opposition candidates. The KMT would likely support Deputy Taipei Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) as its candidate for New Taipei City. The TPP is fielding its chairman, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), for New Taipei City mayor, after Huang had officially announced his candidacy in December last year. Speaking in a radio program, Huang was asked whether he would join Lee’s
RSS