Taitung County promotes contract farming between green plum orchards and processing plants; County Magistrate Huang Chien-ting personally went to harvest plums on the 9th

Taitung's green plums entered peak production season in April, and this year's plum harvest is bountiful. The Taitung County Government is promoting a contract farming cooperation plan between green plum orchards and processing plants, specifically matching plum farmers with the out-of-county Meiyuan Preserved Fruit Company for contract farming. County Magistrate Huang Chien-ting and Speaker Jao Ching-ling went together on the 9th to Luanshan Village in Yanping Township to learn about the start of harvesting, production volume, and purchasing conditions, and used bamboo poles to strike the plum trees and experience harvesting. County Magistrate Huang Chien-ting hopes the contract farming plan can establish a green plum supply platform, stabilize origin prices, and increase plum farmers' income. He also called on county residents to purchase and use more of Taitung County's agricultural products.

County Magistrate Huang Chien-ting and Speaker Jao Ching-ling visited the plum orchard of Luanshan Village plum farmer Li Te-hai at 10 a.m. yesterday, accompanied by Taitung County Agriculture Department Director Hsu Jui-kuei, Luye Township Farmers' Association General Manager Chen Cheng-sheng, and others. The two also used bamboo poles to strike the plum trees and experience harvesting plums, and asked plum farmer and Meiyuan Preserved Fruit Company Chairman Lin Tung-lung, who is engaged in the contract farming, to understand the harvesting and current purchasing conditions. County Magistrate Huang Chien-ting said that Taitung County's main plum production areas include Donghe Township, Chishang Township, Haiduan Township, Yanping Township, Guanshan Township, and others, with a planting area of about 681.90 hectares, accounting for 16.15% of the national area, and an annual output of 3,949.646 metric tons.

With good weather this year, Taitung's green plum production has increased greatly, and the out-of-county Meiyuan Preserved Fruit Company has contracted with plum farmers in Luye Township, Guanshan Township, and Chishang Township through farmers' associations, purchasing at NT$15 per kilogram, higher than the market price of NT$12. There are currently 51 contracted households in total, and the total contracted volume is currently 422.7 metric tons, with a target of 500 metric tons. Starting this year, the company will establish a preserved fruit processing plant in Taitung and take root in Taitung. It is believed that through contract farming between the company and plum farmers and the establishment of a green plum supply platform, origin prices for green plums can be stabilized, the production and marketing supply chain strengthened, and plum farmers' income increased.