The Agriculture and Food Agency has collaborated with grocery and convenience store chains to market guavas and processed guava products following a decline in production due to natural disasters, agency Chief Secretary Chen Li-yi (陳立儀) said on Saturday.
The four chains are PX Mart, Carrefour Taiwan, 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, he said.
Guavas have a total planting area of 7,600 hectares in Taiwan, with Kaohsiung being the region with the largest production volume, followed by Tainan and Changhua County, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Agriculture and Food Agency
The annual production of guavas nationwide is 200,000 tonnes, amounting to an annual output value of NT$6.5 billion (US$225 million), he said.
Although production declined due to three powerful typhoons last year and relatively low temperatures earlier this year, it has risen again with guava prices lowered and stabilized, he said.
With production of the fruit expected to peak from this month to September, the agency is working with the Changhua County Top 100 Fruit and Vegetable Production Cooperative, and the four major chains to promote guavas and their processed products, such as licorice guava or sliced guavas, he said.
More than 1,400 tonnes of guavas would be distributed to stores from today until September, which is expected to yield NT$40 million in output value, Chen said.
Under normal circumstances, the annual guava export volume is about 3,000 tonnes, he said.
However, only 800 tonnes of guavas have been exported this year due to reduced production and price surges, while 1,600 tonnes were shipped at about the same time last year, Chen said, adding that the agency would seek to boost sales domestically and abroad.
Changhua County Top 100 Fruit and Vegetable Production Cooperative president Chen Chien-lung (陳建隆) said that guavas were first introduced to Taiwan from central and southern America, and the Caribbean, and initially planted in Changhua County’s Shetou Township (社頭).
Eating guavas with licorice powder became common in Taiwan, as the fruit used to possess an astringent taste until sweeter varieties were bred in Taiwan, he said.
Thanks to the agency’s continued assistance over the past few years, guavas would be exported to the US for the first time starting from next month, Chen Chien-lung said.
Guava exports to the US are projected to be 50 to 100 containers per month from central Taiwan, although the exact quantity has yet to be determined based on production, he said.
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