Hualien watermelon harvest down, prices expected to rise 20%

Hualien watermelon harvest down, prices expected to rise 20%

2025-05-19

Fans of watermelon have likely noticed that prices have gotten a little higher this year. That’s because harvests in central and southern Taiwan are down slightly. Because of low temperatures this winter, Hualien farms are producing about 10% less than last year, expecting to bring prices up by 10 to 20% for the May harvest.

Farmers make their way through a field, placing freshly picked watermelons on a trailer one by one. These giant fruits are a crisp green and ready to enjoy, as Hualien’s watermelon season arrives. But this year’s harvest isn’t as plentiful as usual.

Due to low temperatures, watermelon farms across Taiwan have seen smaller harvests, driving up prices.

Lo Tung-sheng
Hualien watermelon farmer
The harvest will be a little smaller, because when the weather was cold before, over the lunar new year, it did a lot of damage to the seedlings. It’s the same over on the west coast, from around the same time. So the price here in Yuli will be pretty good.

Chen Shu-wen
Hualien Agriculture Department director
The farmers’ association has reported that the purchase or retail price may be NT$2 or NT$3 more per 600g.

To protect the fruits of farmers’ hard work, local police are to form patrol teams with local farmers. They’ll also employ the use of drones to expand the area and improve night patrols.

Sun Chen-chih
Sanmin Station deputy chief
Apart from using drones to strengthen aerial patrols, we’re also working with volunteer police and sweet potato farmers to form teams for night patrols.

The local Agriculture Department also reminded farmers that if they find any diseased watermelon during their patrols, they should report them immediately to avoid wasting their hard work.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#watermelon #harvestseason #harvest #Hualien #fruit #costofliving #fruitprices #farming

花蓮西瓜遇寒害"產量較去年少1成" 價格略增加2成

2025-05-19

喜歡吃西瓜的觀眾朋友，可能都發現，今年價格比較貴。因為中南部西瓜產量短缺，花蓮也因為低溫，產量比去年少一成，五月花蓮大西瓜產季開跑，價格將比去年上漲1至2成。

西瓜田裡，瓜農們將一顆顆大西瓜，接力運上車，看看這比頭還大的西瓜，脆綠飽滿，現在正值花蓮大西瓜的採收季節，不過，今年產量卻不如往年來得好。

受到氣溫影響，今年全台西瓜整體產量大幅減少，帶動西瓜行情。

[[花蓮玉里瓜農羅東昇]]
“產量的話會差一點點，因為之前天氣冷的時候，過年的時候，那個冷，所以它的苗，那時候就是有受損蠻多的，西部那邊也是，同時間也是受影響，所以今年在玉里的價格，應該會不錯”

[[花蓮農業處長陳淑雯]]
“農會目前的回饋是提到說，以盤口收購價格，或者是零售價格的話，每台斤可能會多到，2至3元的一個狀況”

保護辛苦栽種的成果，當地派出所也將與瓜農組成巡守隊，配合空拍機巡查，除了擴大巡邏區域，也會加強夜間巡視。

[[花蓮三民派出所副所長孫珍治]]
“我們除了以無人機加強空中的巡邏，也結合義警還有在地瓜農，組成巡守隊，加強夜間的巡視”

花蓮部分地區西瓜，農業處提醒，果農巡田時若發現病株，得立即通報，才能避免辛苦栽種的成果，白費了。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Related News

Nvidia to establish HQ in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park

2025-05-19

Tsai wraps up Europe tour in London

Former President Tsai Ing-wen wrapped up her Europe tour in London. On Monday, she visited a Taiwanese-owned Asian grocery store in Notting Hill, and had lunch with Taiwanese artists living in the UK. The day before, she gave a speech at the London School of Economics law school, her alma mater, on Taiwan’s global trade amid geopolitical challenges.

The crowd went wild when former President Tsai Ing-wen appeared on the streets of London.

Tsai: Come stand behind me. We’re taking a bird’s eye view group photo.

As her Europe tour comes to a close, Tsai is visiting an Asian grocery store owned by a Taiwanese expat. The store offers plenty of Taiwan-produced favorites, such as pickles, shacha sauce, ice-cream, danbing crusts and frozen baozi.

Store owner: We’re promoting Taiwanese products to foreigners.
Tsai: Are your customers mostly from Taiwan?
Store owner: Yes, from Taiwan, and also other nationalities.
Tsai: Oh?
Store owner: We’re introducing Taiwan to them through food.
Reporter: Which Taiwanese dish is your top recommendation to foreigners?
Tsai: Gua bao.

She also had lunch with Taiwanese artists working in the UK.

Huang Kuan-wen
Stand-up comedian
I am proud to say I’m from Taiwan. None of this would be possible without the eight years of our country steered by you. So thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

On Sunday, she gave a speech at her alma mater, the London School of Economics, where she was also greeted by fans.

A screaming fan says she loves Tsai. The former president high-fived the crowd, and did small talks and took photos. Inside the venue of her address, she was introduced to the audience by LSE professor and incoming dean of law school, Andrew Murray.

Andrew Murray
LSE Professor of Law
She worked as a law professor, who no doubt I would be happy to have had on my faculty. She graduated from the National Taiwan University and Cornell University
before achieving what is undoubtedly her greatest triumph, earning her PhD in law from LSE.

Tsai Ing-wen
Former president
My experience at LSE made me the kind of trade negotiator I was, and it prepared me for my career in academia, and above all, in politics.

She also expounded on Taiwan’s trade amid difficult geopolitics.

Tsai Ing-wen
Former president
In the face of "race-to-the-bottom" competition from Chinese exporters, which are often subsidized, Taiwanese businesses did not compete to lower prices. Taiwan managed to keep its competitiveness by making itself an indispensable provider of key components in the global supply chains. This is known as the strategy of "hidden champions."

Tsai said Taiwan had remained resilient in the face of challenges, and continues to be a trusted partner in global trade. For her to address one of the world’s top universities also demonstrated Taiwan’s soft power.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#lse #london #tsaiingwen #蔡英文 #europe #taiwan

2025-05-19

Restaurant pairs with celebrity chef to offer bibimbap burgers

Looking for a leg up on the lucrative Taiwanese restaurant market, one large breakfast brand decided to team up with “Culinary Class Wars” chef Edward Lee to make brand-new dishes that combine tastes from Taiwan, Korea, and the US. A separate brand worked with another “Culinary Class Wars” star, dim sum connoisseur Jung Ji-sun, on a new product line. Sales went up 30% in just one month, showing the business potential of collaborating with celebrity chefs.

Celebrity chef Edward Lee sports a warm smile as he greets the audience in Chinese. This is the first time the Korean-American Culinary Class Wars star is collaborating with an overseas brand. At the press event, he had a chance to show off his skills in person.

The corned beef sizzles as it hits the skillet, filling the room with an enticing aroma. And of course you can’t forget the egg.

He takes the patty out and places it gently on a rice bun, then adds chilled spinach and some sweet and spicy Korean kimchi.

Smear on a special spicy sauce and top it off with the other rice bun, and here you have a creative spin on the classic Korean bibimbap, melding Taiwanese, American, and Korean cuisine into one burger. Another restaurant brand worked with Jung Ji-sun, the dim sum expert from “Culinary Class Wars,” on a special menu including spicy butter shrimp and bird’s nest caramel pumpkin pudding. Fans flocked to the restaurant, boosting sales by 30%.

Lee Kuang-ta
Restaurant group brand supervisor
The line created with Jung Ji-sun from “Culinary Class Wars” came out in March. Across all our restaurants, we sold about 35,000 dishes. It drove up revenue by about 30%.

Hsu Pei-yuan
Breakfast restaurant CEO
Our revenue has already grown from last year by about 35%. We expect this collaboration to boost it by another 30%.

There’s great potential in Taiwan’s multibillion-dollar dining industry for celebrity collaborations. Restaurants that want to see a boost in their business would be wise to seek out partnerships to help create exciting themes for their customers.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#restaurants #restaurantindustry #CulinaryClassWars #EdwardLee #JungJisun #realityTV #cookingshow #bibimbap #culinaryfusion

2025-05-19

Women wrongly charged staggering NT$17,100 for less than two hours of parking

2025-05-19

Traffic light gives pedestrians 12 seconds to cross 6-lane road

2025-05-19

Restaurants partner with famous brands to drive sales

Taiwan’s breakfast restaurant industry is worth over NT$50 billion. To snag a piece of the pie, one business partnered with Snoopy for branded packaging, and even opened a themed restaurant. Another teamed up with Sanrio to make My Melody and Kuromi cobranded meals, while another looked to Korea’s Second Morning. Yet another brand collaborated with the Japanese manga “Haikyu!!”, sending fans into a flurry.

These bags, boxes, and paper cups all have images of Snoopy, making it hard to throw away when you’re finished eating! This breakfast shop has a cobranding collaboration and even a special themed restaurant in the hopes of creating a warm dining experience with the beloved characters while also boosting sales.

Another chain breakfast spot teamed up with Sanrio for brand-new packaging and products like this coin purse, cooler bag, takeaway cup, and more. They’re all adorable, but are people actually buying them?

Member of public
Interested customers will want to buy things with certain characters. If you can do a lucky drawing or something like that, it could attract even more customers.

Member of public
Yes, because I think they’re so cute. I love My Melody. When it’s like this, I want to eat breakfast here every day.

They’re not the only places jumping on the cobranding trend. Sushi Express is partnering with Korea’s Second Morning to create an adorable dining atmosphere, while Sushiro is offering menu items, bags, and cups featuring characters from “Haikyu!!”

Hua Li-chi
Restaurant manager
Sales have increased around 5 to 10%. Adults and children both like these characters. We’re even getting kids from preschool to middle-school age.

Allen Chou
Restaurant group chair
We hope that people who like these characters or this kind of atmosphere can share it with our neighbors. Of course, I hope we can draw more customers, increasing growth by 10% at least.

Restaurateurs are inviting famous IP to join with them, driving fans to show their support with their wallets.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#restaurants #cobranding #Sanrio #Snoopy #Haikyu #breakfast #cute #SecondMorning

2025-05-19

Restaurants offer affordable set meals that leave customers satisfied

With rising prices and inflation, it’s becoming harder to eat filling meals at cheap prices. Catering to middle-class customers with big appetites, one Japanese restaurant in Taichung offers all-you-can-eat sushi, while a barbeque restaurant offers affordable set meals. These restaurants offer high quality, large meals at affordable prices.

Sashimi is grilled with a blow torch and laid over sticky rice, creating a platter of colorful sushi. This restaurant offers over 70 types of sushi. And the best part is that it’s all-you-can-eat.

Sushi restaurant owner
Everyone is trying to spend less, so we hope to provide a high value-for-your-money meal at the same price. In addition to meals, we also provide good service as before.

Beyond sushi, this Japanese restaurant has a self-service bar with fresh shrimp, oysters, fried food, and salad. Customers can each as much as they want within the dining time, and it’s often hard to get seats.

Customer
It introduced this type of all-you-can-eat service, which makes me feel like I’ve gotten something extra. I’m so happy to be able to eat so much great food for such an affordable price.

Customer
The food here is all very fresh and the price is affordable. You’re missing out if you don’t come try it.

In addition to all-you-can-eat, restaurants have begun offering different types of set meals, catering to those who want to eat their fill without hurting their wallets. For example, a Korean barbeque restaurant in Taichung’s Beitun District offers set meals that are great value for the money.

Fresh meat is put on the grill, sizzling as it cooks. This restaurant launched a special set meal that allows customers to try everything at once.

BBQ restaurant owner
The market demand right now is that everyone wants affordable, simple, and excellent food. Catering to the needs of customers and the market, we made some changes to create these set meals.

Customer
I think there is enough meat for me with this set meal. It’s good value for the money and fills me up.

In the face of rising prices, these restaurants offer meals that are affordable and filling without causing financial strain.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#sushi #Koreanbbq #barbeque #bbq #Taichung #allyoucaneat #setmeal #affordable#costofliving

2025-05-19

Freddy Lim becomes de facto ambassador to Finland

Recently, rumors that heavy metal star and former legislator Freddy Lim may become Taiwan’s next representative to Finland sparked heated discussions online. On Monday, during a legislative hearing, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said that Freddy Lim’s past experience in the legislature as well as standing in the heavy metal scene makes him a good fit for the Nordic country known for the music genre.

Rumor has it that heavy metal star and former legislator Freddy Lim is to become the next de facto ambassador to Finland. Is that true?

Lin Chia-lung
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Freddy Lim has served as a legislator for two terms, during which he was also a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, so he’s very familiar with diplomatic affairs. He’s also very internationally minded and has plenty of experience in international exchanges. I believe he’ll do very well for our integrated diplomacy, whether with the Nordic region or the world over.

Huang Jen
Lawmaker (KMT)
Freddy Lim, whom you appointed, dodged military service and does not have any diplomacy skill whatsoever.

Lin Chia-lung
Minister of Foreign Affairs
As for the issue of military service, I believe he will give a response himself, so I will not comment on his behalf here. In democracies, it’s quite often the case that ambassadors are picked from lawmakers, as it is with the US’ Trump administration.

Freddy Lim is best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band Cthonic. Him being appointed as Taiwan’s envoy to the country with the world’s largest heavy metal scene has led to heated discussions online. Perhaps to testify to his fame in Finland, a Taiwanese blogger, Coco Talk in Finland posted a screenshot of an article published by Yle, the Finnish Braodcasting Company, titled “From metal band frontman to power - Freddy Lim is one of Taiwan’s most famous politicians.”

Rosalia Wu
DPP Legislative Caucus
I believe Freddy is our best spokesperson to promote diplomacy through culture and to foster international friendship through music. I also hope that once he’s actually appointed, we who used to be his colleagues can form a tour group to Finland when the legislature is adjourned and cheer for him.

Lim’s career sees him wearing several hats over the years, from a heavy metal musician, to the head of Amnesty International Taiwan and lawmaker. His appointment sure makes history both personally and for Taiwan as a whole.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#taiwannews #cthonic #heavymetal #finland #taiwanpolitics

2025-05-19

Train trapped in tunnel after storm damages power lines

2025-05-19

Jay Chou’s grandpa-in-law thinks Taipei is ‘so-so’

2025-05-19