Taitung farmers are getting a new export route into South Korea, which is good news for growers whose income swings with local market prices.

• A Taitung food maker signed a deal with a South Korean trading firm to ship 50,000 frozen pineapple-custard-apple fruit bars in 2027.
• The product is whole fruit, sliced and flash-frozen, so it can sell year-round instead of only in harvest season.
• Pineapple custard apple is one of Taitung's biggest crops, and price swings have hurt farmers' livelihoods.
• Taiwan-South Korea trade reached $90 billion last year, and Taiwanese mangoes have already carved out a spot in Korean stores.
• Taiwanese business contacts in Korea brokered the deal, and local restaurant and food chains attended a trade event alongside the signing.

Outlook: Taitung is lining up more products — tea, liquor, cookies and sweet potato snacks — hoping Korean buyers expand beyond the first fruit-bar order.