Taiwan sends honey oranges, pineapple sugar apples to Singapore for Lunar New Year

Taichung sends a container with ponkan honey oranges and pineapple sugar apples on its way to Singapore. Taichung sends a container with ponkan honey oranges and pineapple sugar apples on its way to Singapore. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is making up for a Chinese ban on its pineapple sugar apples imposed last year by exporting more of them as well as ponkan (Chinese honey oranges) to Singapore ahead of the Lunar New Year, reports said Wednesday (Jan. 5).

The Farmers Association in Dongshi, Taichung City, sent a container filled with 14 metric tons of ponkan and 2 metric tons of pineapple sugar apples from Taitung County to Singapore on Wednesday, CNA reported.

Taiwan’s agricultural exports used to be overly reliant on the Chinese market, with 84.4% heading across the Taiwan Strait, but due to the ban and the development of new markets, that number has dropped to 42.3% for January to November last year, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said.

Singapore has already proven to be a lucrative market, as demonstrated by a previous shipment of 4.5 metric tons of pineapple sugar apples that were sold out within days, according to the COA. The Southeast Asian country was also the largest market for Taiwan’s ponkan, a fruit harvested from October until the Lunar New Year period.