Organic fruits and vegetables graded as off-grade, available for purchase from the New Taipei City Government
In recent years, organic cultivation has gradually become a trend in Taiwan, China, but because pesticides and chemical fertilizers cannot be used during the growing process, farmers who are just starting out often face the awkward situation of produce looking unattractive and being unable to get it onto store shelves. Starting in March, the New Taipei City Government has been promoting a special sales area for "Peace of Mind Ugly Fruits and Vegetables", matching operators with farmers to sell ugly fruits and vegetables at 30 to 50 percent below market price. Today it opened for sales first on the basement 1st floor of the city government building, with business hours from 12 noon to 1:30 pm every Tuesday and Thursday. In the future, they will also be available at the New Taipei City Farmers' Association and farmers' markets.
The basement 1st floor of the New Taipei City Government building has regularly sold organic fruits and vegetables every Tuesday and Thursday at noon since 6 years ago. Many city government employees and nearby residents buy there regularly, so this time it also became a demonstration site for the city government. White radishes that originally cost 7 or 80 yuan per jin were sold at only 10 yuan each because they were relatively small, and all 30 jin were snapped up.
Zhang Lizhen, section chief of the Farming and Livestock Management Section of the New Taipei City Agriculture Bureau, said that in the past farmers were afraid of damaging their reputation and did not dare put unattractive agricultural products on shelves, so they could only be used as compost. But in fact, fruits and vegetables with ugly appearances taste just as delicious. It is hoped that through the sale of Peace of Mind Ugly Fruits and Vegetables, farmers' income can be increased and the concept of cherishing what one has can also be promoted.
At present, New Taipei City is prioritizing organic ugly fruits and vegetables because the threshold for organic cultivation is high and early-stage appearance is usually relatively poor. Farmers may give up organic cultivation because they have no income, but in the future the categories will also be expanded to safe, pesticide-free or Good Agricultural Practice certified fruits and vegetables.
Zhang Lizhen said that the prices and types of ugly fruits and vegetables sold are decided by farmers. At present, sales are also being planned at 8 farmers' markets in New Taipei City, and it is hoped that cooperation with farmers' associations can be arranged to sell seasonal ugly fruits and vegetables when crops are in abundant harvest. If farmers want to put their products on shelves, they can contact the New Taipei City Agriculture Bureau for related information.
Curved cucumbers taste just as good; New Taipei City will start selling NG vegetables
