The government should prepare contingency plans for a possible Chinese ban on oranges from Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Hui-yuan (賴惠員) said yesterday.
Beijing on Monday suspended imports of custard apples and wax apples from Taiwan, citing mealybug infestations in shipments on “multiple occasions” this year.
Lai, who represents Tainan, a major fruit-growing area, said that the Council of Agriculture and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) must start planning a response to such a ban and not wait until after one has already happened.
Photo: Taipei Times file
More restrictions by China would hurt Tainan growers, who are already suffering from the effects of water shortages this year, she said.
The mayor should help growers find alternative buyers to diversify the export market, she said.
China’s actions might put more than citrus growers at risk and the council should start a comprehensive review of produce that might be threatened this year, she said.
Tainan is the nation’s biggest orange-producing region, with 1,764 hectares in Dongshan (東山), Baihe (白河) and Lioujia (六甲) districts producing 60,000 tonnes of the fruit per year, she said.
China accounts for 95 percent of Tainan’s orange exports, or 0.5 percent of the overall yield, Lai said.
The special municipality is also the third-biggest producer of ponkans, with 902 hectares in Dongshan and Baihe yielding 27,233 tonnes of the citrus fruit per year, she said.
Tainan’s specialty ponkan, the green-skinned honey orange, is mainly cultivated for the domestic market, but it has been hit hard by the water shortages, she said.
Beijing’s announcement on Sunday of the ban was the second time this year that China has suspended imports of fruits from Taiwan.
In February, China banned imports of pineapples from Taiwan, citing “harmful creatures” that could arrive with the fruit.
Taiwan had said there was nothing wrong with the pineapples and accused Beijing of playing politics.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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