Bananas grown in Taiwan have been shipped to Singapore for the first time, with growers hopeful that this move will assist them in diversifying their future export markets.
The shipment of bananas, which weighed approximately 6.6 tonnes, were grown on a farm located in Taiwan’s southernmost Pingtung county.
Local agriculture official Yao Chih-wang called the landmark trade “a historic moment”, according to Focus Taiwan.
Taiwan has traditionally exported its bananas to Japan, but this market has come under strong competition in recent years from the Philippines. Exports to Japan have subsequently declined from 42,600 tonnes in 2000 to 19,100 tonnes in 2007 to just 8,530 tonnes last year.
The Taiwanese banana industry had hoped China might emerge as an ideal export market, but these aspirations have not come to fruition.
Taiwan’s first banana shipment to Singapore is intended to be unveiled in at a Taiwanese fruit and vegetable festival held in Singapore on 11 July.
