By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter
“Taiwan Pineapple Day” was held on Friday at Es Con Field Hokkaido in Kitahiroshima, Japan, coinciding with a baseball game, marking the first time Taiwan-grown golden diamond pineapples were offered for sale at the stadium.
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball played the Orix Buffaloes, drawing nearly 30,000 spectators to the Fighters’ home stadium.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Fighters organized the pineapple event to promote Taiwan-grown golden diamond pineapples, with six cheerleaders from the CPBL in support, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture
Before the game, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) presented 30 10kg boxes of pineapples with a Japanese-language Traceable Agricultural Product label to the Fighters on behalf of the ministry.
Agriculture and Food Agency Chief Secretary Chen Li-yi (陳立儀) threw the ceremonial first pitch at the game, reflecting continued exchanges and friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
Pineapples were also introduced for sale at the stadium in collaboration with Farmind Corp, Japan’s largest distributor of fruits and vegetables.
A pop-up shop was set up at the stadium to sell cups of fresh-cut pineapples, which were also on sale at Aeon supermarkets across Hokkaido.
Hu said that Taiwan-grown golden diamond pineapples are distinctive for their juicy flesh, tender texture, and rich fragrance, as well as their edible fruit core.
With high sweetness and low acidity, they are a palatable fruit with a unique taste that is rarely found in fruits from other countries, he said.
Pineapples grown in central and southern Taiwan increase in sweetness as the weather warms each year, Hu said, adding that they are best suited for export to Japan when their sweetness reaches 14 degrees Brix, a measure of sucrose content.
Thanks to the integrated cold-chain system adopted by the pineapple industry, the entire distribution process — from harvest and cleaning to packaging, shipping and retail in Japan — is carried out within a continuous cold chain, he said.
The cold-chain distribution has boosted Taiwanese pineapple exports to Japan from more than 2,000 tonnes in 2020 to more than 17,000 tonnes last year, he said.
Hu thanked the CPBL for helping to facilitate trilateral exchanges among Taiwan’s agricultural industry, the CPBL and the Fighters.
“Pineapple” is pronounced “Ong Lai” in Taiwanese, meaning “good fortune comes.”
The pineapples presented to the Fighters are expected to bring good fortune and provide nutrition for the team’s players, as well as boost fruit exports from Taiwan to Japan, the ministry said, adding that Taiwanese pineapples are at their peak for consumption.
The ministry has supported the agricultural industry in using TAP labels written in Japanese, Korean, or English since 2022, allowing overseas consumers to learn more about the traceability of Taiwanese agricultural products by scanning QR codes printed on their packaging, it said.
AloJapan.com