Though China has blocked the import of Taiwanese pineapples since March, bulk purchases from allies have made up for most of their loss, said farmers in the Southern city of Kaohsiung. An expert said Beijing’s move failed to sway voters from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party at its stronghold in the South.

Since the abrupt suspension on grounds of biosafety concerns, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan set up a task force to promote both the domestic and overseas sales of local pineapples, subsidizing shipping fees and exporting the tropical fruit to countries as far as Australia. Schools are encouraged to include pineapples in their lunch, while the Ministry of National Defense persuaded the army to include the fruit in their meals.

“Many organizations have placed bulk purchases, so the impact [of the ban] is limited,” said Yang, a farmer in Kaohsiung. Long concerned with the risk of relying solely on one market, Yang has been exploring other markets and growing other agricultural products to diversify the risk from possible suspension.

He believed the ban was motivated by political considerations, but it failed to turn farmers in Southern counties from the ruling party as the Taiwanese community has placed orders in solidarity. But he feared the Chinese authorities will take further actions against Taiwan and lambasted Beijing for weaponizing trade.

According to official figures from the Taiwan government, pineapple is among the six types of agricultural and fishery products where mainland China accounts for more than 65% of the export.

John Lim, a scholar on East Asia Relations, said Beijing’s abrupt ban was unusual and not solely due to the discovery of pests, as Chinese authorities had claimed. Rather, it deliberately targeted a product that strongly relies on the mainland Chinese market in a bid to damage the interests of Southern farmers and thus the reputation of the Democratic Progressive Party.

According to Lim, it is difficult to further extend the ban to other Taiwanese products and Beijing will most likely withdraw the temporary suspension. The saga, which caught international attention, has drawn further criticism on Beijing’s bullying of Taiwan, he added. It also encouraged Taiwan to diversify its export markets and forge better relations with allies countries such as Japan and Australia.

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