A joint effort by groups and individuals in Taiwan and abroad to prop up sales of pineapples after China announced a ban on imports of the fruit succeeded in just four days, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
China on Friday announced that it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples starting on Monday, citing biosafety concerns.
Following the announcement, the council urged the public to assist farmers by purchasing pineapples, saying it hoped to sell 20,000 tonnes of the fruit domestically and 30,000 tonnes in exports.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Domestic orders have already surpassed the total sold to China last year,” COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said, after announcing a total of 41,687 tonnes in domestic orders over the past four days.
The council had initially planned to boost domestic sales by pushing for the purchase of 20,000 tonnes of processed pineapples for use in various food products, but orders exceeded expectations following an outpouring of support from individuals, companies and activist groups.
More than 180 companies ordered 7,187 tonnes of whole pineapples; 19 companies ordered 15,000 tonnes of processed pineapples; 14 beverage shops ordered 4,500 tonnes; wholesalers and street market vendors ordered 10,000 tonnes; and exporters and overseas groups ordered 5,000 tonnes, the council said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“We are also looking at boosting exports to countries other than China. Last year, we sold US$131 million of fruit to China and US$52 million to all other countries combined,” Chen said.
At 71 percent of total fruit exports, sales to China last year dropped slightly from 2016, when 77 percent of Taiwan’s fruit exports went to China, he said.
Meanwhile, the Canadian and US representative offices in Taipei on Monday posted messages on social media with the tag #FreedomPineapple, and called on people to support Taiwan’s pineapple growers.
The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) posted a photograph on Facebook of staff members standing around two Hawaiian pizzas with the message: “At CTOT we love pineapples on our pizza, especially Taiwanese pineapples!”
The post says Hawaiian pizza is a Canadian invention, first made in 1962 by Canadian chef Sam Panopoulos at his restaurant in Chatham, Ontario.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Karen Yu (余宛如) commented on the post, thanking the CTOT for its support.
“Taiwanese pineapples have the taste of freedom. I believe you will enjoy them,” she wrote.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced