Six new varieties of Taiwan-cultivated lychees will be shared with Australia as part of a groundbreaking related cooperation program between like-minded Indo-Pacific partners, according to the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture Oct. 23.
Co-organized by the COA, the federal Department of Agriculture and Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the program seeks to capitalize on the northeastern Australian state’s favorable climate by establishing year-round growing for the tropical fruit.
COA Vice Minister Chen Jun-ji said during a handover ceremony in Livingstone Shire, central Queensland, that the skins of the Taiwan lychees are easier to peel and the flesh is better able to survive storage and transportation undamaged. The varieties are expected to prove popular with consumers and raise Taiwan’s profile in the Australian market, he added.
According to Chen, the COA has applied for intellectual property protection for the lychees in Australia, and plans to license farmers Down Under to produce and market the fruit. The next step is to springboard off the initiative and expand Taiwan’s agricultural presence in the markets of New Southbound Policy target countries, he said.
A key plank in the government’s national development strategy, the NSP seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. (YCH-E)
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