On March 11, Deputy Minister Huang Chao-chin of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) attended a sales promotion for Taiwan pineapple held by the large Japanese fruit and vegetable supplier Dole Japan at the supermarket of the Keio Department Store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Dole Japan Representative Director and CEO Hiroshi Aoki had high praise for the quality of Taiwan’s Golden Diamond pineapples and emphasized that last year (2024) Japanese consumers enthusiastically bought Taiwan pineapple. In fact, Dole Japan’s purchase volume of this product exceeded 1,900 metric tons, double the previous year. This year Dole Japan plans to continue to expand the purchase volume of Taiwan pineapple, and Aoki announced at the same time that his company would newly purchase Taiwan bananas, thereby taking a step further in expanding sales of premium quality fruit from Taiwan.

The Ministry of Agriculture explains that in recent years it has been actively developing high-end markets including Japan, and that exports of Taiwan pineapple to Japan have greatly increased. Last year more than 19,000 metric tons were exported to Japan, nearly an eight-fold increase over 2020, as Japan has become the number one export market for fresh pineapple from Taiwan. To provide high-quality pineapple for export, the MOA has been proactively promoting traceability management through the Traceable Agricultural Products system, guiding packaging venues and farmers’ organizations to improve product concentration and packaging procedures and quality control, implementing management of harmful organisms, and upgrading Taiwan’s cold-chain logistic system. The MOA has also been doing multi-directional development of sales channels and consumers in emerging markets. Through the introduction of new export varieties including the Tainung 23 Mango Pineapple, the strengthening of the supply of raw materials for fresh cut pineapples, and the development of diversified processed pineapple products for the food and beverage industry, it has continued to expand penetration of the Japanese and other high-end overseas markets.

Deputy Minister Huang thanked Dole Japan and Japanese consumers for their strong support. He highlighted last year’s record-breaking pineapple exports and celebrated Japan’s recent approval of Taiwan’s red-pulp dragon fruit and Dragon-Tiger grouper imports. Huang reaffirmed the MOA's commitment to helping farmers and exporters maintain high product quality to deliver more premium Taiwanese agriproducts to Japan.

Dole Japan CEO Hiroshi Aoki thanked the MOA for supporting pineapple exports, including connecting with major sales channels and promoting eco-friendly packaging that reduces paper waste by 667 kilograms per container. Aoki announced that he plans to import 3,000 metric tons of Taiwan pineapple this year, 1.5 times more than in 2024, and to start importing Taiwan bananas in April. Emphasizing their motto, “Fruit brings smiles”, Dole Japan is committed to expanding the presence of Taiwanese fruit in Japan.