Taiwan allowed to export fresh pineapples to Australia

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) Australia has opened its doors to imports of Taiwan-grown pineapples after nearly five years of consultations between agricultural authorities of the two countries, Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) said Monday.

Australia's Department of Agriculture issued an official notice on its website Monday that it permits imports of Taiwan-grown fresh pineapples, with immediate effect, the COA said in a statement.

The COA said that after nearly five years of effort, including providing scientific evidence and having Australian officials visit Taiwan to verify the evidence, Taiwan has overcome Australian quarantine barriers to open a new market for its home-grown fruit.

Taiwan filed an application for market access to the Australian fresh pineapple fruit market in April 2015 by submitting documents on the country's pineapple farming, cultivation and processing techniques and its export record, the COA said.

In August 2017, the COA invited Australian experts to Taiwan to conduct risk analysis for fresh pineapples from Taiwan.

A year later, Australia finalized its risk analysis and asked Taiwan to provide supporting documents, according to the statement.

Taiwan produces 430,000 metric tons of pineapples per year, and in 2019 it exported 50,000 metric tons of the fruit  valued at about US$60 million.

It currently exports pineapples to Canada, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Indonesia, Palau, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands and Russia.