CHINA has banned Taiwanese pineapple, citing the risk of "harmful creatures" that could affect its own crops, a move Taipei sees as bogus and made to pressure the island that Beijing sees as its province, reports BBC News.
Taiwan's Council of Agriculture said Taiwan produces 420,000 tonnes of pineapple annually, and exports 10 per cent, with almost all of it going to China.
In response, Taiwan's leaders sought out new customers overseas, and asked locals to eat what Chinese consumers no longer could.
Beijing's decision has been accompanied by incursions on People¡¯s Liberation Army warplanes into Taiwan airspace, according to the BBC report.
"Taiwanese pineapples are stronger than fighter jets. Geopolitical pressures cannot squeeze their deliciousness," declared Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te in a tweet.
Without mainland sales, Taiwanese growers face a possible glut of pineapples, and with it a danger that prices might fall.
source:Schednet