After more than two years, China has lifted a ban on the import of Taiwanese pomelos in time for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said today.
China has temporarily halted the import of Taiwanese citrus fruits since Aug. 3, 2022, including pomelo.
However, China has since April hinted that fruit exports could restart soon.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The bureau today said that it received notice through the Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation of Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection (海峽兩岸農產品檢疫檢驗合作協議) that China would restart the import of pomelos.
Taiwan and China are to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in two weeks.
As of now, no manufacturers have offered to export to China as the notice was just received today, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
As of the end of last month, Taiwan’s pomelo exports reached 1,464 tonnes.
The main recipients are Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada, with these exports set to continue.
Two of Taiwan’s top three producers, Tainan’s Madou District (麻豆) and Hualien County’s Rueisuei District (瑞穗), have already finished their harvest, while Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六) has finished 90 percent and northern regions have completed about 70 to 90 percent, the Agriculture and Food Agency said.
This year, Taiwan’s annual production yield is estimated to be 62,000 tonnes, about 20 percent lower than last year, the agency said.
However, the increased rain brought by typhoons has ensured high-quality fruit with balanced sweetness and acidity, it added.
China has also banned Taiwanese imports of largehead hairtail fish and frozen horse mackerel.
Chinese General Administration of Customs Vice Minister Zhao Zenglian (趙增連) on April 28 said the agency plans to reopen Taiwanese imports of fruits and fish that can satisfy China’s quarantine requirements on the basis of scientific assessment.
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