New Zealand welcomed a shipment of 500 pineapples from Taiwan this month thanks to a new trade amendment signed by the Oceanic country that approved the import of the fruit from the East Asian country.

The pineapples arrived in Auckland by air and marked a new milestone for Taiwan, as it explores exporting local fruit to other markets like New Zealand and the United States, after the country's fruit growers had suffered economic setbacks due to tensions with their biggest trading partner, China.

Pineapples do not constitute a large trade market for Taiwan, but after China cut their pineapple trading relationship in 2021, Taiwan has been working to provide growers with other export opportunities. 

When the pineapple shipment arrived in New Zealand on May 16, China’s consul-general in Auckland, Chen Shijie, issued a public letter imploring New Zealand to continue to “uphold” a One-China policy and refrain from official exchanges with Taiwan.

Taiwan is also forging closer ties with the United States, reflecting Taiwan's broader effort to decrease its economic dependence on Beijing.

This year marks the 11th anniversary of the ANZTEC, the trading agreement between Taiwan and New Zealand. Currently, Taiwan is New Zealand's seventh-largest goods export market.

Under the agreement, only pineapples grown under specific management conditions may be exported to New Zealand, the Taiwanese Ministry of Agriculture said.

The MOA noted that this addition will further expand the reach of Taiwanese pineapples, which are already sold internationally in countries like Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The two-way trade exceeds $2 billion and, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country "looks forward to more quality Taiwanese agricultural products being exported to New Zealand to further advance bilateral economic and trade relations."