Southern Taiwan's Irwin mangoes, which are generally palm-sized, red-skinned and round-shaped, have won popularity with consumers in neighboring countries, decades after being introduced from the United States.
"It's been more than 40 years since the Irwin mango was imported into Taiwan. Irwin is now one of the best mango types in the world, " Wu Wei-dar, agricultural marketing section chief of the Tainan county government, told the Central News Agency in a telephone interview Saturday.
Wu is now promoting the sweet fruit with other county officials in China. Their June 15-23 trip to China is aimed at expanding the sales of the summer fruit in markets there.
The Irwin mango has been selected by the Council of Agriculture, Taiwan's top agricultural government agency, along with Taiwan's butterfly orchid, Oolong tea and Tilapia fish, as one of the island's four "flagship export products." Irwin was introduced into Taiwan in 1954 with other breeds, including Haden and Keitt, according to the council.
These mangoes grow mainly in the counties of Tainan, Pingtung and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, but Irwin mangoes occupy more plantation area than other types of mangoes due to its popularity.
In 1961, a local government agricultural expert planted 100 seedlings of the Irwin mango imported from Florida in Tainan County's Yujing Township.
But most of the seedlings did not grow as well as expected because they died in one of the worst frosts in Taiwan in 1964. Only four of them survived, but nonetheless, the township was later turned into a major production site of the Irwin mango in Taiwan.
In recent years, however, the township and other mango production sites in Taiwan have been troubled by the oversupply of the fruit, which has driven down prices and affected farmers' livelihood.
To help solve the problem, in 2004, the Tainan county government decided to target Japan as the first export market. It has retained fruitful results since then.
Taiwan's Irwin mango, for example, saw its market share in Japan double from 4 percent in 2006 to 8.9 percent in 2009, according to government figures.
In the years after 2004, the county government continued to promote mango exports to South Korea, Australia and elsewhere.
The rising export sales delighted Taiwanese mango growers and encouraged their sons and daughters to return home and take up their businesses.
This year, however, these mango farmers are facing the worst situation in nearly 20 years, with the production of Irwin and other types of mangoes likely falling 30 to 40 percent from last year, due to recent unstable weather.
Some growers were worried that the decline in production will have a big impact on mango exports, but Lin Chi-fu, a local manager in charge of exporting the county's mangoes, said recently that no mango farms have reported difficulty in supplying the fruit.
The problem this year did not put on hold the county government's long-term strategy of exploring overseas markets, with China being the focus in the near future.
"Taiwan now only exports a combined 300 metric tons of various mangoes to China every year, " Wu noted.
"We believe that future promotions of the fruit will be able to at least double the volume (in China) in the short term," he said.
"It's been more than 40 years since the Irwin mango was imported into Taiwan. Irwin is now one of the best mango types in the world, " Wu Wei-dar, agricultural marketing section chief of the Tainan county government, told the Central News Agency in a telephone interview Saturday.
Wu is now promoting the sweet fruit with other county officials in China. Their June 15-23 trip to China is aimed at expanding the sales of the summer fruit in markets there.
The Irwin mango has been selected by the Council of Agriculture, Taiwan's top agricultural government agency, along with Taiwan's butterfly orchid, Oolong tea and Tilapia fish, as one of the island's four "flagship export products." Irwin was introduced into Taiwan in 1954 with other breeds, including Haden and Keitt, according to the council.
These mangoes grow mainly in the counties of Tainan, Pingtung and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, but Irwin mangoes occupy more plantation area than other types of mangoes due to its popularity.
In 1961, a local government agricultural expert planted 100 seedlings of the Irwin mango imported from Florida in Tainan County's Yujing Township.
But most of the seedlings did not grow as well as expected because they died in one of the worst frosts in Taiwan in 1964. Only four of them survived, but nonetheless, the township was later turned into a major production site of the Irwin mango in Taiwan.
In recent years, however, the township and other mango production sites in Taiwan have been troubled by the oversupply of the fruit, which has driven down prices and affected farmers' livelihood.
To help solve the problem, in 2004, the Tainan county government decided to target Japan as the first export market. It has retained fruitful results since then.
Taiwan's Irwin mango, for example, saw its market share in Japan double from 4 percent in 2006 to 8.9 percent in 2009, according to government figures.
In the years after 2004, the county government continued to promote mango exports to South Korea, Australia and elsewhere.
The rising export sales delighted Taiwanese mango growers and encouraged their sons and daughters to return home and take up their businesses.
This year, however, these mango farmers are facing the worst situation in nearly 20 years, with the production of Irwin and other types of mangoes likely falling 30 to 40 percent from last year, due to recent unstable weather.
Some growers were worried that the decline in production will have a big impact on mango exports, but Lin Chi-fu, a local manager in charge of exporting the county's mangoes, said recently that no mango farms have reported difficulty in supplying the fruit.
The problem this year did not put on hold the county government's long-term strategy of exploring overseas markets, with China being the focus in the near future.
"Taiwan now only exports a combined 300 metric tons of various mangoes to China every year, " Wu noted.
"We believe that future promotions of the fruit will be able to at least double the volume (in China) in the short term," he said.
