Taiwanese guavas go on sale in Europe

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Dec. 5 (CNA) Taiwanese guavas have hit the European market for the first time after the European Union approved their import earlier this year, and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) was there this week to promote the fruit.

The launch was made possible after Taiwan overcame strict sanitary requirements and secured a permit from the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission in June to export its mangoes and guavas to the EU.

Huang did not indicate the size of the initial batch of guavas shipped to Europe, and the statistical database of Taiwan's International Trade Administration did not show any guavas exported to anywhere in Europe through October 2025.

But appearing in a market in Amsterdam on Friday to highlight the entry of guavas into Europe, Huang told CNA he was delighted to see the fruit grown in Taiwan go on sale in the Netherlands.

He also felt that the availability of fruit from Taiwan would be welcomed by Taiwanese currently living in Europe, including students.

Several customers for the fruit were Taiwanese, including one woman who identified herself as Winnie.

She told CNA she had lived in Europe for more than 40 years and was very excited to see Taiwanese fruit in the Netherlands.

She bought guavas and pineapples at the market and said she hoped she could buy other Taiwanese fruit in the future, such as mangoes and wax apples.

Taiwan's representative to the Netherlands, Tien Chung-kwang (田中光), told CNA that Taiwan and the Netherlands have built close economic ties in many areas, and he believed the Netherlands would serve as a gateway for Taiwanese fruit into other European markets.

Before arriving in Amsterdam, Huang led his delegation to France on Thursday.

During his stay there, Huang visited wholesale fruit distributors in the Rungis wholesale market south of Paris to discuss Taiwanese fresh fruit sales in the country.

While there, Huang also promoted Tainan's processed foods, including dried fruits, shrimp crackers, buckwheat tea, dry noodles, and specialty drinks and desserts.