A shipment of Taiwan-farmed groupers was readied for dispatch to the U.S. under an exports diversification program May 27 in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, according to the Fisheries Agency under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture.
 
Organized by the FA in collaboration with Taiwan Frozen Seafood Industries Association and a local supplier, the 3 metric tons of flash-frozen fish underscores the effectiveness of agency efforts to cultivate new markets and reduce reliance on buyers in China and Hong Kong. Both destinations have seen a steep decline in demand since the first reports of coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
 
Given the high quality of the fish and the industry’s technological edge, the FA said, there is real potential for heightening the country’s aquaculture profile in the potential-laden U.S. market.
 
The FA is subsidizing exports of flash-frozen and filleted groupers to Asian countries aside from China, as well as Australia, Europe and the U.S. The former is NT$40 to NT$50 (US$1.33 to US$1.66) per kilogram, while the latter is NT$50 to NT$60 per kilogram.
 
Taiwan cultivates 200,000 metric tons of groupers per year in fish farms covering around 1,900 hectares mainly in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County and Tainan City, as well as outlying Penghu County. A total of 70 percent is exported, with 90 percent of this figure shipped to China and Hong Kong, FA statistics reveal.
 
Groupers inhabit tropical and subtropical seas, especially near coral reefs. There are about 400 different types worldwide, of which more than 30 can be found in the waters surrounding Taiwan. (TYT-E)
 
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