Pineapple exports have so far this year risen more than 12 percent, showing that the industry has cast off reliance on the Chinese market following Beijing’s ban on imports of the fruit from Taiwan last year.
Exports of pineapples totaled 9,805 tonnes in the first three months, up 12.2 percent year-on-year, Council of Agriculture data showed.
This was despite the ban China imposed in March last year on imports of the tropical fruit from Taiwan, citing unspecified pests.
Photo: CNA
Council Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) spoke alongside Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) at a news conference in the city yesterday touting pineapple exports to Japan.
Ceremoniously closing a truck ready to ship nearly 14 tonnes of pineapples overseas, the officials thanked Japanese for their enthusiastic support of Taiwanese agriculture.
Even after China banned imports without warning, Taiwan’s growers found other markets with help from the council and the Agriculture and Food Agency, Huang said.
Although this year has seen a smaller export volume than during the same period last year, the quality is better, meaning that selling prices can be higher, he said.
The council last year acted quickly to promote local consumption and exports of pineapples, as well as the creation of value-added products, ensuring that growers did not feel the effects of China’s ban, the Tainan Agriculture Bureau said in a statement yesterday.
Taiwan last year exported a total of 28,000 tonnes of pineapples, council data showed.
Excluding exports to China, those bound for other markets increased by 533 percent from 2020.
Japan received nearly 18,000 tonnes, up 726 percent.
The council this year is still promoting pineapples to new markets, with the goal of increasing exports to 30,000 tonnes.
The council appears on track to achieve its goal, even without the Chinese market, the bureau said.
Successfully capturing the confidence of Japanese consumers also proves the quality of Taiwanese produce, as Japan imposes strict import quality and safety controls, the bureau added.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be
A promotional event for the launch of a drinks store led to police questioning a 26-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), the Taichung Police Department said yesterday. Police said that they questioned Chang and forwarded the case to prosecutors, accusing her of producing, distributing, broadcasting or selling pornography. Police said she faces charges related to the alleged distribution of indecent photographs on Twitter and using overtly sexual innuendos to promote the store on Monday night. Officers stumbled upon the content during a routine Internet “patrol.” Chang faces a prison sentence of up to two years and up to a NT$90,000 fine if found guilty