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.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College