Letters | Who wins in Chinese ban on Taiwan pineapples

Name: China-Australia trade: Beijing set to ban nearly US$400 million worth of Australian wheat imports
Uploaded: 2021-03-26T23:00:23.000Z
Duration: 1 min 15 s
Description: China-Australia trade: Beijing set to ban nearly US$400 million worth of Australian wheat imports

As with China’s trade action against Australian wine, the mainland’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples has inspired international cooperation, setting Taiwan on the path to export diversification

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A pineapple farmer harvests his crop in Taiwan’s Pingtung county. A Chinese ban has sparked a flood of patriotic pineapple buying and forced restaurants to come up with inventive new menu choices, but raised questions about Taipei’s overwhelming economic reliance on its giant neighbour. Photo: AFP

Letters

Published: 7:00am, 27 Mar 2021Updated: 7:00am, 27 Mar 2021

I refer to “China’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples leads cross-strait trade into troubled waters” (March 1). Trade relations between Beijing and Taipei have been thrown into turmoil by the mainland’s ban on Taiwanese pineapples. The consensus view is that the two sides might escalate the situation into a greater trade war, one that would cause deeper losses to Taiwan.

This argument is narrowly conceived. Indeed, Taiwan used to rely heavily on the Chinese market, with more than 90 per cent of its pineapple exports going to the mainland.

However, Japan has now ordered more than 10,000 tons of Taiwanese pineapples, at least five times more than the 2,144 tons it imported last year. The US and Canada have hailed Taiwan’s “freedom pineapples”. The Chinese ban could well be the catalyst for the greater globalisation of Taiwan’s trade.

The ban on Taiwanese pineapples is not the first time that China has exerted trade pressure on other economies. China also plunged the Australian wine industry into crisis by imposing anti-dumping duties, even though it is the “highest price-point market” for these bottled imports.

01:15

China-Australia trade: Beijing set to ban nearly US$400 million worth of Australian wheat imports

However, Australian citizens and parliamentarians from 19 countries launched a global campaign urging people to buy Australian wine, which led to a 22 per cent increase in Australian wine exports to Europe, offsetting the trade pressure from China. It has also made Australia aware of the consequences of over-reliance on the Chinese market and of the importance of finding more markets.

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Letters | Who wins in Chinese ban on Taiwan pineapples