Pineapple prices have risen despite pressure on the market from China, officials said yesterday.
Pineapples are Taiwan’s top fruit export. China suspended imports of the fruit in March 2021, citing pest concerns, in a move that Taiwan said lacked scientific basis, contravened normal trade practice and was a political act.
Beijing recently said it would reopen imports of banned Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Agricutlure
China intends to use industry associations to pressure the government into accepting its demands, the Mainland Affairs Council said.
Some local media reports said that pineapple farm prices had halved and that the situation had caused discord among farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday denied the reports, saying that prices remain stable and are higher than before China implemented the ban.
The Agriculture and Food Agency said rising domestic demand has pushed pineapple farm-gate prices to NT$12 to NT$15 per jin (600g) from NT$11 to NT$14 early this month.
Export prices are above NT$18 per jin, it said.
Taipei wholesale market data showed that the average wholesale price of pineapples yesterday was NT$39.1 per kilogram (NT$23.46 per catty), above the three-year seasonal average of NT$31.95 per kilogram.
Taiwan’s harvest season is under way and pineapple production is up 4 percent from last year, Agriculture and Food Agency Chief Secretary Chen Li-yi (陳立儀) said.
Demand is also at a seasonal high due to religious events such as Matsu pilgrimages, helping support prices, he said.
Since China’s ban, Taiwan has shifted its pineapple exports to markets including Japan, Canada and South Korea, Chen said, adding that average farm-gate prices for golden diamond variety pineapples ranged from NT$22.1 to NT$29.08 per kilogram between 2021 and last year, above the NT$20.47 in 2020 before exports to China were halted.
Exports to Japan totaled 9,422 tonnes through this month, roughly in line with 9,541 tonnes a year earlier, he said.
Shipments to Japan have proceeded smoothly despite colder weather there and unstable global shipping schedules, he added.
Taiwan could begin exports of pineapples to the US as early as next month, Chen said, adding that the government would continue offering export incentives while diversifying markets to reduce risk.
China has restored tariffs on Taiwanese fruit imports, industry sources said.
Although Beijing described its recently proposed “incentive measures” as favorable to Taiwan, high tariffs have reduced competitiveness, they said.
They cited sugar apples as an example, saying combined duties and value-added taxes approached 30 percent after China resumed imports.
Even if China reopens its market to Taiwanese pineapples, competitiveness could still be affected, they said.
Separately, after promoting pineapples in Japan and South Korea, a delegation led by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) on Saturday traveled to Penang, Malaysia, for a sales event, the first time Tainan pineapples have been introduced to the Malaysian market.
The Tainan City Government said Malaysia and its neighboring countries already have a wide range of tropical fruits, making the entry of Tainan pineapples into the market a significant breakthrough.
The shipment had already attracted strong interest before arriving in Penang, with preorders quickly selling out, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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