Last Saturday, a direct sea freight route opened between Taiwan's Kaohsiung and Pingtan in China’s Fujian province, drastically shortening shipping times for fresh farm produce from the island to mainland markets. In the past, shipments from Kaohsiung were required to make intermediate stops at other Taiwan ports. Now, they can go directly to the mainland.
A freighter operated by Taiwan trade shipping agency Wagon departed from a port in Kaohsiung in southwestern Taiwan, bound for Pingtan off the east coast of Fujian, on Saturday afternoon. The direct 330-kilometer journey between the two cities shortens shipping time from two or three days to just nine hours.
The freighter was loaded with more than 700 metric tons of goods, including fruit, vegetables, frozen food, fruit juice and liquid crystal display panels worth more than 15 million yuan ($2.2 million).
All the goods had been purchased by enterprises in Pingtan to supply the needs of customers during Spring Festival celebrations on the mainland. The sale was the first export shipment from Kaohsiung since the Kuomintang party's Han Kuo-yu took office as the city's mayor in December.
