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
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
A total of 41 US military personnel were stationed in Taiwan as of December last year, a US congressional report said on Friday last week ahead of Tuesday’s passage of an aid package that included US$8 billion for Taiwan. The Congressional Research Service in a report titled Taiwan Defense Issues for Congress said that according to the US Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center, 41 US military personnel were assigned for duty in Taiwan. Although the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1979 included a vow to withdraw a military presence from Taiwan, “observers have indicated
The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday. The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The corvettes, launched in February and June last year respectively, were delivered to the navy in February. They are the third and fourth Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes to be produced. The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a domestically designed and manufactured class of fast and stealthy multipurpose corvette built for the