Taiwan's fresh fruit and vegetable exports are significantly up so far this year compared to last, with Japan topping the export market list, Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) announced today (June 21).
Fresh produce exports for the first five months of 2011 rose 23.19 per cent from the prior year period to US$1.92bn, the COA's Chang Su-San told Focustaiwan.
Japan received 49 per cent of goods exported during the five-month period, followed by the US (16 per cent), China (7.5 per cent), and Hong Kong (7.4 per cent), according to COA figures.
Ms Chang said Taiwan's produce exports to Japan have grown this year despite the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis.
Total Taiwanese fruit and vegetable shipments to Japan for the first five months of this year reached US$450.4m, up 15 per cent from the same period last year, she said.
Taiwanese carrot exports to Japan jumped 133 per cent over last year to 4,797 tonnes, while cabbage shipments rose 57 per cent to 2,195 tonnes.
Taiwan's produce exports to China have also soared so far this year, increasing 44 per cent over last year's volume.
Ms Chang attributed the growth to the inclusion of agricultural products in the early harvest list of goods and services under the Economic Cooperation Agreement between Taiwan and China.
But Taiwan's oranges, bananas and golden mushrooms exports to China fell during the five-month period, with orange exports down 78 per cent compared with the prior year period.
Ms Chang put the drop in orange exports down to the absence of an emergency purchase agreement with China in 2011.
