TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s ban on Taiwan mangoes will have little effect, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said on Tuesday (Aug. 22).

Wang explained in a Facebook post that Japan and South Korea have become Taiwan’s main export markets for mangoes, where they are sold at significantly higher prices than in China.

Taiwan has exported 715 metric tons of mangoes to Japan with a value of US$5.67 million (NT$181.1 million), and 628 metric tons to South Korea with a value of US$3.84 million in 2023, according to Wang. Mango exports to China totaled only 938 metric tons with a value of US$1.71 million, representing only 0.5% of Taiwan's mango production.

This diversification has proven successful for Taiwan's mango exports, he said. Taiwan has also been actively seeking emerging high-end markets such as Canada, Brunei, New Zealand, and Australia, he added.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office announced on Monday (Aug. 21) that all Taiwanese mango imports will be banned immediately due to harmful citrus mealybugs allegedly found earlier this year. TAO Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) claimed that the mealybugs pose a significant threat to China’s agricultural production and ecological safety.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, this year's mango production reached 176,000 metric tons, most of which was intended for domestic consumption. Domestic sales account for about 97.8% of total mango production, while exports to various countries make up about 2.2%.

With this year’s mango season coming to an end, the impact of China's temporary suspension of Taiwanese mango imports is expected to be limited, Wang reiterated.

China previously banned Taiwanese pineapples in 2021 and Taiwanese seafood and pomelos in 2022. In August 2022, Chinese authorities blacklisted 2,066 food products and over 100 food manufacturers from Taiwan prior to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the country.

Beijing had also banned Taiwanese atemoyas imports until June.