Exported Using Smart Cold Chain Technology: Yunlin Iceberg Lettuce Sets Sail for Saudi Arabia

The Council of Agriculture cooperated with the Taiwan Lettuce Village in Mailiao, Yunlin, and exporters to successfully apply the systematic cold chain technology developed by the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute and improved field cultivation, enabling the Taiwan lettuce (iceberg lettuce) produced by the vegetable production and marketing group of Mailiao Township, Yunlin, to set sail for export to Saudi Arabia, successfully expanding Taiwan's high-quality agricultural products into emerging markets outside Asia. A launch ceremony was held at 10 a.m. yesterday (the 5th), jointly initiated by Wei Sheng-te, Director of the Department of Agriculture, on behalf of the county magistrate, and Chen Chi-chung, Minister of the Council of Agriculture.

Chen Chi-chung, Minister of the Council of Agriculture, stated that in recent years the export quality of Taiwan's head lettuce has steadily improved, and the combination of no-ground-contact harvesting and vacuum precooling with systematic cold chain technology has stabilized the quality on arrival. At its peak, export volume exceeded 10,000 tonnes, with Japan as the main export country, followed by South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and other places. The Council of Agriculture has also guided exporters to actively expand into Middle Eastern and European markets. Through the systematic cold chain technology developed by the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, precise production, quality control and cold chain technology application have been achieved. Combined with the introduction of good agricultural practice cultivation methods by the Mailiao Township vegetable production and marketing group, grading, packaging, precooling and low-temperature storage are completed within 4 hours after harvest while awaiting shipment, allowing the lettuce to be stored at low temperature for a long time, extending the fresh-keeping period for export storage and transport of lettuce to 28 days (originally 20 days). After deducting the voyage time, shelf time can be maintained for more than 1 week, and the product good-rate remains above 98%, maintaining high quality and creating new opportunities for expanding into long-haul export markets.

Chen Chi-chung, Minister of the Council of Agriculture, stated that in the future the Council of Agriculture will continue to integrate the research and development capacity of experimental and research institutions, cooperate with farmers in production areas and exporters to introduce smart agriculture cultivation and key cold chain management systems, improve the arrival quality of exported agricultural products, and, in accordance with international standards and target market requirements, guide exporters to obtain international certifications such as GlobalG.A.P., to perfect the global market export layout.