2021/03/08 12:57 (Facebook, 松田慶久 photo) (Facebook, 松田慶久 photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) Amid an effort to express solidarity with Taiwan against China, Taiwanese pineapple fever has gripped Japan, with supermarket shelves being emptied of the Taiwan-grown tropical fruit. On Feb. 26, Beijing announced it would ban all imports of Taiwanese pineapples, alleging that “harmful organisms” had been found in the fruit. Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) chastised China for its “unilateral decision,” which he deemed “unacceptable.” To show support for Taiwan, Japanese companies had pre-ordered over 6,000 metric tons by March 4, shattering previous records. In addition, Japanese netizens spoke out in support of Taiwan with comments such as: The CCP’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples just proves that they are of good quality. If the CCP doesn’t buy them, we
2021/03/04 17:58 (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) In response to China s ban on imports of Taiwan-grown pineapples, Taiwan has found a welcome market for the tropical fruits in Japan, which has already pre-ordered over 6,000 metric tons, shattering previous records. During an interview on the radio station Super FM98.5, Council of Agriculture minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on Thursday (March 4) said that Japan has pre-ordered over 5,000 tons of Taiwan-grown pineapples, In addition, a Japanese multinational distributor has placed a pre-order for 1,200 tons, bringing the total to 6,200 tons, which Chen said set a new record for pineapple exports to Japan. Wu Ching-lu (吳清綠), honorary chairman of the Taiwan Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (TVFEA), was cited by Liberty Times as saying that Japan currently imports about 15 percent of the pineapples it consumes, or about 157,000 tons. Wu said that this is a marke