Taiwan mangoes enter French market, targeting premium channels

Paris, June 12 (CNA) Taiwanese mangoes have entered the French market for the first time after reaching the main wholesale food market for Paris, hoping to gain a foothold in high-end hospitality and retail channels

Shipped to France by air as part of a six-metric-ton shipment of fruit that also included dragon fruit and lychees, the mangoes arrived at Marché International de Rungis, where Taiwan's representative to France, Hao Pei-chih (郝培芝), appeared Friday to promote the product.

Hao said the launch was an important milestone for Taiwan's fruit exports, as the EU has some of the world's most stringent agricultural import requirements, and came after years of negotiations over plant quarantine norms and compliance with European Union standards.

Bruno Chartier, head of French fruit importer Sun 7 Fruits, described the Taiwanese mangoes as a premium product that will command higher prices than other mangoes and said the company would initially focus on luxury hotels, upscale restaurants, specialty food stores and concept shops.

"Taiwanese mangoes are on another level," Chartier told CNA during the visit, citing their sweetness, rich flesh and relatively small seed compared with other imported varieties.

As the product is new to the French market, greater promotion will be needed to build consumer awareness, he said.

Nature House Group, the Taiwanese exporter behind the shipment, said earlier this month that shipping fruit to Europe reflected Taiwan's ability to meet stringent EU import requirements and maintain cold-chain quality over a journey of more than 10,000 kilometers.