Taiwan: Cold chain storage potential
Last year there was a glut of lychees on the market. To try and make something of the situation the Council of Agriculture collaborated with trading companies to sell refrigerated lychees to South East Asia, said Wang Yi-ting, an assistant researcher at the Cabinet-level council's Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute.
A total of 50 tons of lychees were sold to Singapore and Malaysia to help alleviate the problem of overproduction, Wang told CNA in a recent interview.
"The lychees flew off the shelves the first day they arrived at the stores," Wang said.
She explained that the technology in question did not rely on chemicals at all, purely on the ability to control temperatures and ensure optimum freshness.
"The future aim of Taiwan's agriculture is not only to achieve good taste, but also safety," said Wang.
She said that the technology had not yet been widely adopted as it was only one part of a cold storage chain that was not in place as yet. Wang said that companies need to invest in the new technology and be willing to adapt.
There are hopes that lychees can be developed which respond well to freezing, for even longer preservation. So far only one variety has been cultivated that will tolerate the freezing process.
The aim is also to develop varieties that will help to extend the season. The goal is four months, whereas now it is only six weeks.
Source: focustaiwan.tw
