Taiwanese pineapples are expected to be exported to the US next year, after the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in March announced importation requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.
The ministry has completed all necessary administrative procedures, the public comment period has closed and it is now waiting on Washington to give formal notification to begin exports, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) told the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee.
The US is concerned about the oriental fruit fly and mealybug caterpillar, but said that pineapples with more than 50 percent Cayenne genetics do not host the insect, he said.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Accepted varieties include golden diamond and mango pineapples, which would not require special quarantine treatments, he added.
Golden diamond pineapples account for 90 percent of Taiwanese pineapple production, while mango pineapples, a newer variety, have a total cultivation area of 50 hectares, the ministry said.
The government has also helped prepare 50 hectares for pineapples that would be exported to the US, including the two varieties, it added.
The ministry highlighted Taiwan’s recent success in expanding its overseas markets for pineapples: 15,700 tonnes of pineapples were exported to Japan this year, while shipments to Canada, South Korea and Australia rose by nearly 409 percent, 171 percent and 29 percent respectively.
New markets also include New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia, it added.
Taiwan’s peak pineapple season runs from February to May, so notification might arrive before February next year, it said.
Golden diamond pineapples, the primary variety, would be the first to be exported, although the government would gradually encourage farmers to switch to mango pineapples, which are more suited for storage and transportation, and are better for high-end markets, it added.
As for exports of other fruits, Taiwan’s first shipments of mangoes, dragon fruit and lychees arrived in France in June and are expected to subsequently reach the UK, Austria, the Netherlands and other markets, the ministry said.
The EU approved imports of Taiwanese mangoes and guavas last year, followed by jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees in February.
The government is seeking to resume pork exports to Japan, as well as secure approval for the export of all varieties of mangoes to Japan and South Korea, and Taiwanese guavas to Australia, the ministry said.
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