Pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

is one of the fruit crops produced in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Geography

Pineapple fields in Taiwan are mostly located in the central and southern regions, in which 30% of them are located in

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county ...

, followed by

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

(14%),

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

(14%),

Chiayi County Chiayi is a County (Taiwan), county in Taiwan. Located in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City, it is the sixth largest county in the island of Taiwan. Its major tourist destination is Alishan Natio ...

(13%),

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

(12%), and Hualien County and Taitung County.

Varieties

More than 90 varieties of pineapple are grown in Taiwan however 84% of production is of just one variety, the golden diamond pineapple also known as Tainung 17. Other popular varieties are winter honey (Tainung 13), milky (Tainung 20), sugar-apple (Tainung 4), and perfume (Tainung 11). The smooth cayenne was the first variety introduced into Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period and remains in cultivation. The golden diamond pineapple became dominant as its price rose over the years due to its popularity in China. As Taiwanese growers seek to diversify away from the Chinese market they will have to shift production to other varieties. The variety Tainung No. 23 has no fibers and smells like mangoes in addition to having a long shelf life. Tainung No. 23 gained intellectual property protection in the Japanese market in 2022. In 2023 the Council of Agriculture accused the Chinese government of producing the Tainung No. 23 without permission. In response to the variety being smuggled to China agricultural intellectual property protection laws were strengthened.

Economy

The industry developed under the Japanese colonial regime and by 1939 Taiwan was the third largest exporter of canned pineapple in the world. Over the past few years, Taiwan produces 420,000 tons on average annually. Around 11% of pineapple production in Taiwan are exported to 16 countries or regions around the world, in which 90% of them to

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. In 2020, the total export to mainland China was 41,661 tons, valued approximately around NT$1.5 billion. It is followed by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(2,160 tons),

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

(1,186 tons) and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(421 tons). In 2021, a ban on Taiwanese pineapples in mainland China sparked the "

freedom pineapples Freedom pineapples ( zh, t=自由鳳梨, p=Zìyóu fènglí) was a political and social response in 2021 to a China, Chinese ban on the import of pineapples from Taiwan. It encouraged domestic and international consumption to replace the loss of ...

" phenomenon.

Tourism

* Taiwan Pineapple Museum

References

Horticulture in Taiwan

{{Taiwan-stub

Geography

Varieties

Economy

Tourism

See also

References