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The Tainan City Government recently announced that local mangoes and guavas successfully entered the EU market. This achievement is the result of joint efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overcoming quarantine restrictions related to fruit flies and opening new export avenues for Taiwanese agricultural products. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che shared the efforts behind this success at a press conference, expressing gratitude to the central government and the quarantine authorities for their coordination.

Mayor Huang mentioned that the city government has long been dedicated to promoting agricultural products abroad and reflected on a promotional event held in the Netherlands last September, where they faced EU quarantine restrictions even with only samples of the products. This situation hindered distributors from importing the products. Consequently, the city government quickly contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and requested the quarantine authority’s assistance in clarifying the phytosanitary issues with the Dutch Plant Protection Agency (NVMA).

To enhance quarantine compliance rates, Tainan has actively pushed for upgrades in agricultural product quarantine technology. The Yujing thermal treatment facility, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, completed its equipment modernizations last year, becoming the top facility in the country for thermal treatment volume and effectively preventing oriental fruit flies, significantly improving the quality of exported agricultural products. Additionally, Tainan's guavas have been successfully exported to the United States since 2019 using cold storage treatment technology, making it the first source of guavas from Taiwan to enter the US market. Now, with the entry into the EU market, this is expected to greatly benefit local farmers.

The city government also highlighted Tainan's active participation in international food exhibitions in places like Tokyo, Seoul, and Singapore, aiming to diversify export markets. In terms of technological innovation, the recently concluded 9th Asia-Pacific Agricultural Technology Exhibition at the Greater Tainan Convention Center provided further opportunities for Tainan's agricultural technology and quality products to shine on the international stage. Looking ahead, the city government plans to continue collaborating with the central government to enhance quarantine capabilities and export competitiveness, ensuring stable income for farmers.

This success in entering the EU market demonstrates that Taiwanese agricultural products meet international quality standards, and the city government will continue to strive for access to more high-end markets in the future.