The China Post
Date: January 15, 2017
By: The China Post news staff
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Though touted as a “king vegetable” in Taiwan, cabbage has yet to emerge as one of
(The China Post news staff)
the island’s major agricultural export products due to lack of integrated marketing systems, with the vast majority of production still destined for the domestic market, according to officials.
Statistics compiled by the Council of Agriculture showed that Taiwan dedicates 9,000 hectares of farmland to cabbages, with annual production estimated at over 360,000 tons.
Disappointing Trade
Over the past five years, cabbage exports accounted for only a tiny portion of production, and declined from 2,500 tons in 2011 to only 200 tons in 2016, the statistics showed.
Council officials said that up to 80 percent of Taiwan’s cabbage exports were destined for the Japanese market, with export prices ranging from NT$8 to NT$11 per kilogram.
Tsai Chun-ying, a senior technical specialist at the Council of Agriculture’s Department of International Affairs, said the decline in cabbage exports and the failure to increase export prices were mainly caused by the lack of an integrated marketing system, which in turn resulted in the failure to secure a stable supply of cabbage with consistent quality. [FULL STORY]
