Cultural customs drive demand in Taiwan

Taiwan grows a rich variety of fruit, but for most temperate fruit, such as apples and cherries, it still relies heavily on imports. Its roughly 20m population has an annual per-capita fruit consumption of around 135kg, according to local industry sources. “The demand for imported fruit in Taiwan remains high. Cherries, apples, and blueberries, which we import in large quantities, are scarcely produced locally,” says George Liu of Kingo, a key importer in Taiwan. “In terms of volume, apples are the largest imported fruit category in Taiwan.” Demand for apples has remained consistently high, a trend closely related to Taiwan’s religious customs. According to Liu, in Taiwan, both households and businesses hold rituals twice a month to worship their deities or ancestors. The main suppliers from the Northern Hemisphere are the US and Japan, while in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand and South Africa are key origins. “Last year, due to some quarantine issues, the import of South ...