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Mainland China’s import of Taiwan’s oranges help little for the domestic oranges’ Farmers
According to the Council of Agriculture, oranges are mainly produced in the central counties of Yunlin, Tainan, Jiayi, and Nantou. Fall is the high yield season. Highly nutritious and full of fibers, it is one of the most favorite fruits of Taiwan’s consumers. In order to ease the pressure from overproduction, the Council of Agriculture developed refrigeration technologies to store oranges and has encouraged food processing factories to help increase the value of domestic oranges by using them as ingredients in their products in recent years. In addition, in August 2006, the COA promoted the use of organic fertilizers made from immature fruits were promoted, a move that helped decrease supply by 7,135 metric tons. The Council also assisted food factories in purchasing 9,126 metric tons of oranges for making juice. During domestic sales promotion activities, 2,575 metric tons of fresh fruit and 4,050 tons of fruit juice were sold. These measures have resulted in an average price of NT$12.5 per kg sold at Taipei fruits and vegetables company. The average price at the production area is at least NT$9.5,significantly higher than the production cost of NT$8per kg.
In recent years, the Council of Agriculture has conducted many promotional activities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mainland China in order to develop international markets for Taiwan’s oranges. As for Mainland China market, one of Taiwan’s main targets for fruit exports, the Council expects good results from its promotional activities.
China has promised to purchase 2,000 metric tons of bananas to help solve the overproduction of banana in 2006. However, last October, the total China’s purchase of Taiwan’s bananas were just 118 tons, a very limited help to relieve the overproduction. Because of this, the Council of Agriculture still encourages everyone to consume more domestic fruits that are fresher and more nutritious in the future to help the local farmers.
