Taiwan

Mainland orders soak up fruit surplus in Taiwan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-12 16:44

BEIJING - The Chinese mainland purchased 800 tons of bananas from Taiwan in late May, after sales in the island stalled earlier that month, a mainland spokeswoman said Saturday.

As of June 10, a total of 300 tons of bananas had reached the mainland, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference in Beijing.

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Fan said the purchase order was made according to a contract signed in November last year between the mainland's All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC) and Taiwan farmers organizations.

The contract stipulated that the mainland would buy 3,000 tons of surplus fruit, including oranges, bananas and pineapples, by this October, Fan said.

She said more than 1,600 tons of Taiwan oranges had been purchased by the ACFSMC to keep the island's market in balance.

The two sides were more effective and flexible in carrying out the purchase contract, by keeping timely communications about production and making purchase plans ahead of signs of a surplus, she said.

The mainland would do its best with more timely orders to help Taiwan farmers maintain stable incomes, Fan said.

She said the island's Tainan county leader, Su Huan-chih, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, would come to Beijing and Shanghai to promote the sales of Tainan mangos.

"We welcome representatives from all the counties and cities in Taiwan to come to the mainland and boost exchanges," Fan said.