China: 50-percent growth in Fruit exports to Japan, South Korea

Exports of Taiwanese lychees, mangoes and dragon fruit to Japan and South Korea more than doubled th…

Exports of Taiwanese lychees, mangoes and dragon fruit to Japan and South Korea more than doubled this year, thanks to relaxations in those countries' qualification requirements, according to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

The number grew from last year's 1,817 metric tons to this year's 2,760 metric tons, the bureau said in a statement released July 31, the date on which export of these fruits to Japan and South Korea ends each year.

Exports of Taiwanese mangoes to South Korea saw 94 percent growth this year, from last year's 911 metric tons to a record-high 1,767 metric tons, said Feng Hai-tung, the bureau's deputy director-general.

Exports to Japan, on the other hand, have remained at a stable level in recent years, said Feng. According to the bureau's statement, Taiwan exported 803 metric tons of mangoes, 154 tons of lychees and 1.3 tons of dragon fruit to Japan this year.

Feng attributed the result to Taiwan's fruit products meeting the requirements of Japan's and South Korea's respective inspection standards for imported goods.

In the past, Taiwanese fruit exported to Japan has been infested with Oriental fruit flies and melon flies. With the farmer's implementation of protective measures such as fruit-bagging, such incidents have dropped from last year's 12 times to three times this year, Feng added