TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Japan has approved the import of red dragon fruit from Taiwan following eight years of negotiations, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said Wednesday (June 5).

Dragon fruit with the edible or white “meat” had been exported since 2010, but those with red or purplish red meat were susceptible to oriental fruit flies and melon flies, per CNA. The presence of the insects in Taiwan is why Japan took such a long time to review the application.

A basic precondition for export to Japan is steaming the center of the fruit for 30 minutes at a temperature of 46.5 C, according to the MOA. In May, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) invited two inspectors from Japan to handle testing and certification issues related to summer exports of fruit.

In 2023, Taiwan exported 18,000 tons of 11 varieties of fruit to Japan with an estimated value of US$30 million (NT$970 million). Since 2016, when Taiwan first applied to export red dragon fruit to Japan, the volume of fruit exports expanded fourfold, turning Japan into the largest market. 

A dozen countries import red dragon fruit from Taiwan, the MOA added.