Customs officer giving a quarantine certificate to a Fuzhou Hongying Agricultural Development Co official, on July 4.

Customs officer inspecting the Taiwan-bound pumpkins.

A large number of pumpkins left Pingtan, an island off the coast of Fujian province, for Taiwan, on July 9, in a major move for a local Fujianese company, which is exporting its produce directly to Taiwan for the very first time.

The pumpkins, from the Fuzhou Hongying Agricultural Development Co Ltd, were making the trip aboard the Haixia, which was also on its maiden commercial voyage of this sort.

This new delivery route is a faster, more convenient way to connect Taiwan with the mainland and, even though this is just a trial run, more shipments, more often, are expected soon. There are also more convenient customs clearances, meaning the fresh vegetables and fruits can reach Taiwan on the same day.

Shi Gongyin, the development company's chairman of the board explained that the pumpkin seeds originally came from Taiwan and were cultivated in Pingtan, so they're expected to be quite popular with the people in Taiwan.

The pumpkins will be handled by the FonRon Farm in Taiwan's Yunlin county. They left Pingtan's Aoqiao Port on July 5.