Hainan offers fertile ground for fruit farmers from Taiwan

Importing, expansion

Attracted by Hainan's unique tropical location and a climate suitable for fruit cultivation, Lin began to investigate the island's agricultural sector in 1998. At the time, the sector had many advantages, including relatively low labor costs and flat fields, unlike hilly Taiwan.

In 1999, he settled in a township in Wenchang city. In 2000, he established a company, where he initially grew litchis, a popular local fruit. Later, Lin started importing different varieties of fruit from Taiwan for trial cultivation, gradually expanding his scale.

In 2006, he imported wax apples for a trial. Initially, the fruit was not red and was even split at one end, but after many experiments, Lin achieved a good harvest in 2013, and gradually made a profit from the fruit. He imported bags, pesticides and techniques from Taiwan, but realized that those were not the main factors in success.

"Developing agriculture needs to adapt to the local environment and it relies on the water, soil and weather," he said.

The wax apples he grows in Hainan are also different from those grown in Taiwan, he said. For example, harvest time is different in Hainan, and during the rainy season, the fruit is sweeter as a result of the fast-draining soil.

Lin said there have also been hard times, such as when a super typhoon caused major damage to his plantation. He recalled that in 2014, a typhoon destroyed his wax apple orchard just before the crop was ready to ripen, leaving not a single fruit on the trees.

Despite those setbacks, Lin has stuck it out in Hainan because he regards the island as his home after so many years of effort.

Moreover, strong government support has helped him slowly recover from his losses. "The stronger the wind blows, the more solidly I build my plantation," he said.

He grows litchis, wax apples and dragon fruit on about 0.8 square kilometers of land, employing 20 full-time workers. The largest number of temporary workers he has ever employed in one day is about 700.

Thanks to the quality of his fruit and its good reputation, he has no problems selling his produce. Commercial buyers purchase the crop directly from his field, mostly for sale on the mainland. "The mainland market is bigger than the one in Taiwan and it has more opportunities for development," he said.