The government is making plans to deal with a possible continued Chinese ban on Taiwan pineapples in the future.
China’s ban on Taiwan pineapple imports on March 1 led to fervent domestic purchases of Taiwan pineapples to make up for the usual over 40-ton Chinese orders. Japan also made orders of about 6,000 tons.
Now the government is planning for years ahead. Agricultural council official Hu Jong-i on Tuesday said that they have two plans to deal with a continued Chinese ban on pineapples. Taisugar has 338 hectares of land that is rented for the purpose of growing pineapples. The government has asked them to stop renting the land for pineapple crops when the contracts have expired. That would lessen Taiwan’s pineapple crops by 15,000 tons which is about a third of the usual annual export figure to China.
Hu also called on farmers to begin producing No. 23 mango pineapples rather than the No. 17 golden diamond pineapples. That’s because the former can be harvested for a longer period, from May to November, and thus would be easier to sell.