Since Taiwan's flower export market has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Executive Yuan’s Council of Agriculture launched relief measures for the domestic flower industry. In Tainan City, Mayor Huang Wei-che instructed the city’s Agriculture Bureau to actively assist local flower producers to apply for central government aid and plan out local economy revival measures as Tainan is an important painter's palette flower production area in Taiwan. The Mayor visited Bai Fang Farm in Liujia District on April 11 to talk with the farmers and understand production and sales statuses of Tainan's flowers. He expressed that the city government will do its best to provide assistance to local flower producers.
Mayor Huang pointed out that Tainan's blossoms make up about 70% of Taiwan's total painter's palette exports, and the top three countries that import the flowers are Japan, Singapore, and Australia. However, this year’s pandemic caused export volumes to drop drastically. Huang instructed Tainan City Agriculture Bureau to actively help flower producers and related flora associations to submit aid applications to the central government, and plan out local stimulus schemes to curtail the impact brought forth by a shrinking export market. The Mayor suggest that on Mother's Day, the public can buy painter's palettes along with carnations. Because in the Taiwanese dialect, the names of painter's palettes and carnations together would sound like "best wishes to her", and he hoped this idea would also bring good luck and health to everyone.
Tainan has the largest painter's palette production area in Taiwan. The city has approximately 53 hectares, which is 32.8% of Taiwan’s total production area. Within the city, Liujia area has the largest production zone, which is about 20 hectares (37.7% of Tainan’s total painter's palette production area). In January to March 2020, the total export value of painter's palettes was NTD 16.35 million. This is NTD 4.2 million (about 20%) less than the same period in 2019. The export value in 2019 was NTD 20.55 million.
In response to the central government's relief measures, Tainan City Agriculture Bureau rolled out a number of stimulus schemes, including promoting floriculture in schools to let the young students learn how to integrate blossoms into their daily lives. Eighty floriculture classes will be taught on site or online at junior high and elementary schools in Tainan. Twenty-four hundred teachers and students are expected to participate in the courses. The Bureau also encourages temples to ask worshippers to use flowers as offerings to stimulate flower sales. The flowers can then be taken back home as a symbol of the deity’s blessings. Furthermore, the Bureau assists painter's palette agriculture production and marketing groups, communities, and co-ops in designing their brand and presentation, strengthening brand marketing, and expanding customer groups to increase domestic flower demand and lessen the economic impact caused by the pandemic.