TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan exported 9,805 tons of pineapples between January and March, an increase of 12.2% year over year, proving that the country has successfully found other markets for its pineapples.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that Taiwan was caught off guard last March when China abruptly banned the import of pineapples from Taiwan. After the incident, Taiwan finally realized that it needs to expand globally in terms of finding new markets, he added.

Taiwan exported a total of 28,000 tons of pineapples last year, a 533% year-on-year increase. This figure includes the 18,000 tons of the tropical fruit sent to Japan, a 726% year-over-year increase and equivalent to Taiwan's total pineapple exports to that country in the past 20 years.