Black Sugar Barbie wax apple: large, red and juicy, lowered technical transfer threshold, annual licensing fee of 60 yuan per plant

October 22, 2017 update: The latest news from the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute: Black Sugar Barbie wax apple is now open for "non-exclusive licensing." To encourage the development of local specialty brands, the licensed area has been lowered to 1 hectare (inclusive) or more for applications; those with less than 1 hectare may apply as a team formed by several people, and the license period is ten years.

The average annual licensing fee per hectare is 18,000 yuan, and the average annual licensing fee per tree is 60 yuan, accounting for about 2.6% of production costs. Farmers, production and marketing groups, cooperatives, and farmers' organizations who are interested are welcome to participate in the technology transfer. Those interested please contact the Fengshan Branch of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute: 07-7310191

The LV of wax apples - Black Sugar Barbie, red in color and large in size

An ordinary wax apple costs just over 50 yuan per kilogram, but the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute has developed a wax apple named "Black Sugar Barbie." Because of its rosy red color, large size, and crisp, juicy texture, it once fetched a sky-high price of 1050 yuan per kilogram at the Taipei First Fruit and Vegetable Market last year, higher than the price of a Barbie doll.

Assistant researcher Huang Chi-cho said that Black Sugar Barbie not only satisfies consumer demand, but also cracks less easily, and after freezing treatment it is not prone to developing spots, making it very suitable for export. However, to prevent farmers from rushing to plant it all at once, the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute is still carrying out technology transfer in a limited-quantity, designated-area manner, and recommends that farmers force flowering in October. This not only allows them to capture the period from July to October each year when the domestic supply of wax apples is relatively insufficient, but also avoids the typhoon production season.