Taipei  - China will help Taiwan tackle the problem of glut production
of fruit by buying 1,200 tons of Taiwanese oranges next week, a
newspaper said Wednesday.

The Fujian Chaoda Group has agreed to buy 1,200 tons of Taiwan's
surplus oranges. Taiwan will send five shipments of the oranges to
Fujian Province starting Monday, the China Times said.

This is the fourth time China has helped Taiwan tackle glut production
of fruit since 2006, when bilateral ties began to warm through contacts
between Taiwan's Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist
Party.

The 1,200 tons of oranges will be shipped directly from Taiwan to
China, as Taiwan and China are scheduled to launch direct shipping on
December 15, the paper said.

Taiwan produces about 210,000 tons of oranges every year between
November and March. The glut this year has sent orange prices tumbling.

The Council of Agriculture plans to cut the land area for growing
oranges from 9,500 hectares to 8,500 hectares and to subsidize some
orange farmers for growing crops instead of oranges. (dpa)