10 Taiwan Fruits You Probably Didn’t Know Are Locally Grown

Taiwan is known as the motherland for many things: highly sought-after semiconductors, the best traditional Chinese learner textbooks money can buy, innovative electric scooters, and pineapple cake. But it’s a little known fact, at least internationally, that Taiwan is also known as the ‘Kingdom of Fruit’. 

This means that it’s common to see both supermarkets and local markets in showcasing Taiwan fruits, from brilliantly colorful arrays of local-grown bananas, oranges, grapes, avocados, tomatoes, dragonfruit, and pineapples, to so much more. 

Not only that, but Taiwan fruits are actually renowned throughout Asia, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival when pomelo production goes through the roof. Taiwan fruits are also the backbone of pineapple cake and fruit jelly, two traditional Taiwanese desserts.

Even so, there are a few fruits in Taiwan that you probably didn’t know could be grown locally.

10 Locally Grown Taiwan Fruit

#1 Apples

Even though the apples found in supermarkets in Taiwan are usually imports from New Zealand, Japan, and the US, Taiwanese apples are still a thing, albeit a little bit harder to find. Deliciously crisp and juicy, you can usually see roadside stalls in the mountains selling apples, as this is where Taiwanese apples are primarily grown owing to the colder climate.

#2 Pears

Like imported pears from South Korea, Taiwanese pears are usually very expensive…if you only visit the supermarket. Tourists to mountainous regions like Lala Mountain in Taoyuan who find themselves in pear country, with numerous roadside stalls hawking the fruit, can browse much cheaper and fresher alternatives.

#3 Bananas

Bananas are the most important fruit in Taiwan for exports, according to the Taiwan Banana Research Institute. They’re also one of the cheapest fruits in Taiwan courtesy of the many banana farms that grace the island, like Jiji Banana Farms. This particular Taiwan fruit is also commonly enjoyed in the form of dried banana and banana chips. 

Fun fact: Some Taiwanese claim that eating the banana peel can treat depression.

#4 Oranges

Oranges in Taiwan are abundant in the winter, coming in one of four varieties. Usually small and round, and almost always orange aside from Tainan’s Green Ponkan variety, Taiwan’s oranges can be found everywhere from roadside stalls solely selling freshly squeezed orange juice to tea stores whipping up orange-paired concoctions.

#5 Strawberries

Strawberries are a wildly expensive locally grown Taiwan fruit, partly because of the few farms that produce them and partly due to the fleetingly cold climate. As a result, Taiwan strawberries can only be found in the winter. On the other hand, dried strawberries are a common all-year-round souvenir at Jiufen Old Street and across night markets in Taiwan, although the strawberries themselves are usually from China.

Fun fact: You can go strawberry picking at farms like the Strawberry School in Taoyuan during the winter months!

#6 Mangos

Nothing hits the spot like a juicy sweet Taiwanese mango with shaved ice on a hot summer’s day. But which mango should it be? Though there are at least 23 different mango varieties in Taiwan, Irwin Mangoes are the most popular, although they’re not necessarily the sweetest. Taiwanese make mangoes even sweeter with dried mango, which is often sold in old streets and at night markets in Taiwan.

Fun fact: It was actually 17th century Dutch settlers that first brought mangoes to Taiwan!

#7 Avocados

Though similar in color to American or British imported avocados, locally grown Taiwan avocados have a smoother skin along with a much larger seed than other variations of this fruit. Taiwanese avocados are also considerably cheaper, selling for around NTD $30-$50 per fruit (US$1-$2).

Fun fact: Most avocados in Taiwan are produced in Tainan, in the south of Taiwan.

#8 Guavas

Unlike Caribbean guava with its ruby red and rosy interior, Taiwanese guavas are creamy white on the inside and green on the outside. They are cultivated year round and come in more than 20 varieties. Usually eaten when still a bit hard and with the skin on, Taiwanese guavas are a fixture in every supermarket, though guava jam has yet to be seen.

Fun fact: A town in Changhua county holds an annual ‘Silk Stockings (socks) and Guava Festival’ to support and showcase local products. 

#9 Plums

Besides Beitou’s Plum Garden oasis filled with plum blossom trees, plums have a special place in Taiwan. Though abundant and greatly varied, these small Taiwan fruits are more often than not consumed as candied plums, plum jam, plum vinegar, and plum essence. They are celebrated in the annual ‘Plum Festival’ held in Nantou, central Taiwan.

# 10 Pineapples

The ‘Golden Diamond’ pineapple, also known as Tainung #17, is the most popular, most widely grown pineapple in Taiwan. And, by proxy, the most beloved Taiwanese pineapple in Japan, as they’re the largest consumer of exports of this Taiwan fruit.

Fun fact: Pineapple is the national fruit of Taiwan, which makes sense since Taiwan has the most varieties - a shocking 90! - of pineapple in the world.

A Juicy Guide to Taiwan Fruit