Changhua County is a major agricultural region in Taiwan, with an abundance of specialty agricultural products. This year, Changhua County specially integrated e-commerce into the marketing of agricultural produce, and has partnered with ETMall to set up the “Changhua Quality Products” category since December. Changhua County Mayor Wang Hui-Mei even made her debut as a shopping expert today (23rd), becoming the 12th local government leader to go on the ETMall shopping program “Eastern Farm”. Wang Hui-Mei specially recommended the “Environmentally-Friendly Shetou Pearl Guavas” to consumers. The fruits came in 5 kg boxes, with around 12-14 guavas per box, at the ETMall price of NT$499. To support Taiwan’s farmers, Chairman Gary Wang of ETMall also offered an additional 50% ET coin reward. County Mayor Wang Hui-Mei, also known as “Sister Mei”, showcased her impressive promotional skills and sold all 800 available sets (over 10,000 fruits) of pearl guavas within a short 40 minutes on the program.
Wang Hui-Mei said that it is now the peak production season for guavas. Guava orchards in Changhua cover an area of about 1,300 hectares, with an annual output of about 36,000 tons, and the main production areas are in Xizhou, Shetou, and Ershui. Although Changhua’s output is only second in Taiwan, the quality is the best in the country. Changhua guavas have enjoyed good harvests year after year because of Changhua’s excellent soil conditions, thanks to the alluvial fan of Jhuoshuei River, which contains rich nutritional substances that help nurture the pearl guavas. Changhua guavas are crisp and juicy, with a unique flavor and great level of crispness, and are highly sought after by exporters and Southeast Asian countries. In recent years, the Changhua County Government has actively guided the development of export channels to enter the markets of Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. This not only helps to diversify the sales channels of guavas, but also solves the problem of overproduction in Taiwan, so as to prevent low prices brought about by high production volume, which will help stabilize market prices. In recent years, the export volume of guavas has gradually increased, from only 13 tons in 2015, to the incredible volume of 350 tons in 2019.
According to Wang Hui-Mei, eating guavas brings a multitude of benefits. Not only are guavas low in calories, but they are also very filling. The fruit also has a much higher vitamin C and antioxidant content when compared to apples or kiwis. There are many varieties of guavas on the market, including pearl guavas, crystal guavas, rainbow guavas, Tainong No.1 emperor guavas and so on, among them, the most popular is the pearl guava, which has the largest production volume. How do you choose the perfect guava? Wang Hui-Mei said that the best pearl guavas should have light green skin with a tinge of white, as this means the fruit is at the optimal ripeness. Pearl guavas are mostly round or similar to Asian pears in shape, the skin is rough and bumpy, the fruit feels dense when held, the flesh is thick and delicate in texture, and the flesh can be white or creamy yellow in color. The fruit should be crisp with a delicate fragrance, and should have a restrained sweetness and light acidity in flavor.
“Changhua Quality Products” will be available on ETMall from December 1st to April 30th next year. The expansion from physical channels to virtual channels will allow consumers to see Changhua’s quality products. Five themes have been planned, including “Beautiful Changhua, Delicious Flavors”, “Living in Changhua, Convenient Lifestyle”, “Changhua Fresh, Selected Agricultural Products”, “Healthy Changhua, Beautiful New Life”, and “Happy Changhua, Endless Wonders”. The Changhua County Government hopes to create more business opportunities for local businesses through the comprehensive channels of ETMall, which is estimated to at least bring more than NT$50 million in turnover.
Having long cared for local farmers, ETMall launched the special show “Eastern Farm” to support high-quality agricultural products from Taiwan with the help of local and central government leaders. Wang Hui-Mei also said that it is really a win-win situation for both consumers and farmers to have such a good platform and the extra 50% ET coin reward that is provided by ETMall. She would like to express her special thanks to Chairman Gary Wang of ETMall for his support of local farmers.
Eastern Group mobilized its TV shopping and online shopping channels to stand together with small local farmers and called on its members to show love and take action to give back to farmers regardless of the cost. This year, we were the first to join the national agricultural and fishery products marketing team. With our support, we sold out 1,600 Chiayi Aurora muskmelons, sold 3,500 sets of Taitung atemoya in seconds, sold out 4,000 sets of Tainan Guanmiao pineapples, and sold 8,000 fourfinger threadfins and hybrid giant tiger groupers. We achieved brilliant sales performance each time, and not only have we upheld the spirit of “EHS Select” to look for quality food and ingredients, but we have also assisted farmers in promoting domestic sales and allowing consumers to taste local delicacies again and again. Eastern Farm adheres to the strictest selection and quality control process for the products, all of which are delivered directly from the place of origin to the customer’s home. After the launch of agricultural products, it has been warmly praised and received positive feedback from the majority of ETMall members. Over the years, we have upheld the spirit of “EHS Select” to look for quality products from all over Taiwan. We also hope to lead by example and inspire our peers to also support Taiwan’s local agricultural industry.