According to the office of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee, 527.9 tons of fruit were imported from Taiwan in the first three quarters of this year, valued at US$637,000, almost four times the amount that was imported over the same period last year.

In the first three quarters, a growing number of Taiwanese fruits were imported to Xiamen, far more than the total amount in 2005. This accounts for 11.7 percent of imported fruit and 29 percent of the import value of Xiamen. Taiwan has become Xiamen's second largest fruit import region behind the Philippines.

The majority of imported Taiwanese fruit is transported to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Chengdu; only a small amount is sold in Xiamen.

The construction of a distribution center for Taiwanese fruit has been listed in the 11th Five-year Plan. The original 5,000-square-meter site will be extended to 20,000 square meters. In addition, a fruit show room larger than 700 square meters and a 1,000 cubic meter refrigerator will be built.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)