Thai mangosteens to re-enter Taiwan market soon
Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Mangosteens from Thailand, which had been banned from Taiwan for 16 years following a fruit fly outbreak, will again be allowed to enter Taiwan market as soon as July.
The ban will be lifted because Thailand has complied with Taiwan’s quarantine requirements, Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季), deputy chief of the Council of Agriculture (COA), told CNA in a telephone interview.
Taiwan’s government stopped importing Thai mangosteens in 2003 because of fruit fly problems there, but Thailand has gradually improved its agricultural technology and now applies vapor heat treatment to eliminate fruit flies, a process that meets Taiwan’s quarantine standard, Chen said.
Taiwan is expected to allow Thai mangosteens into the country as early as July after the COA’s issuance on April 26 of a 60-day notice on the quarantine standard, said Chen Tzu-wei (陳子偉), an official with the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ).
The two-month period will be used to gather public opinion on the proposed measure, and the COA will compile the results after the period expires, Chen Tzu-wei said.
The official said the lifting of the ban would not affect Taiwan’s farmers because local product of mangosteens is negligible, Chen said.