September 02, 2024 | Taipei Times |
China has lifted its two-year ban on the import of Taiwanese pomelos, just in time for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, as confirmed by Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (It has been reshuffled as Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency in August 2023). The import ban, initiated on August 3, 2022, affected various Taiwanese citrus fruits, including pomelos. Recent communications through the Cross-Strait Agreement on Agricultural Quarantine signaled the restart of pomelo imports, although no manufacturers have yet offered exports as the notice was just received.
Despite the reopening of this export route, Taiwan's pomelo harvest is nearly complete. Major production areas, including Tainan’s Madou District and Hualien’s Rueisuei District, have finished their harvests, while others, like Yunlin County’s Douliou City, are close to completion. Taiwan’s overall pomelo production this year is estimated at 62,000 tons, which is 20% lower than last year, though recent typhoon rains have enhanced fruit quality.
Taiwan has already exported 1,464 tons of pomelos to markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada. Additionally, China had previously banned imports of other Taiwanese goods, including largehead hairtail fish and frozen horse mackerel, but there are indications that more products could soon resume exports based on China's quarantine assessments.