Taitung County Deputy Magistrate Wang Chih-hui (王志輝) led a group of farmers to China on Wednesday to fight for the resumption of custard apple exports to the country.
Since September 2021, China has suspended imports of Taiwanese custard apples. Beijing complained of finding scale insects on custard apple shipments. Taiwanese authorities say the move went against international trade regulations.
It’s now the season for custard apples in Taitung, and Wang and the farmers hope to restart exports of the fruit to China. Custard apple prices have fallen by over 50% since the Chinese import ban was introduced. Taitung is the source of almost all of Taiwan’s custard apples, meaning the county is especially affected by the ban.
The Taitung County government also visited Singapore in December last year to promote the sale of its custard apples. Taiwan exported 5,000 Taiwanese catties of the fruit to Brunei this February in an effort to find new markets.