Plump, juicy and fragrant, Taiwanese mangoes have long been a top draw for foodies, but traditionally those wanting to experience them have generally had to travel ​to the island.

Starting this year, however, the yellow and orange-coloured fruit will make its ‌way to Europe, shipping first to France and Britain.

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Europe normally imports its mangoes from countries such as India and Pakistan, but David Chen, CEO of fruit export company Natural House Taiwan, said Taiwan's mangoes can easily win ​on flavour, which helps overcome their premium price.

Exporting mangoes "has really become extremely, extremely expensive," ​he told Reuters at a fruit packing facility in the central city of ⁠Taichung. "It turned out that even though the price was so high this year, people still ​bought them."

Taiwan may be better known for its dominance in making the advanced semiconductors used in applications ​as varied as smartphones and AI, but arguably it was agriculture that first made the island famous.

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Shipments [from Taiwan to the EU] had to ​comply with EU ⁠rules regarding, for instance, pesticide residue.

"In terms of fruit selection, and also in terms of field management, the EU is stricter than for the domestic ​market," [one Taiwanese supplier] said.

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The [Taiwanese] government has encouraged fruit farmers to expand export markets ​given political ⁠friction with China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory.

President Lai Ching-te last month said China had "weaponised" fruit through import bans, which have targeted pineapples, custard apples and wax apples, as well as ⁠mangoes. ​China said such bans are for phytosanitary reasons.

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