[Taipei] Yunlin County is the largest peanut producer in Taiwan, and out of the 20,000 hectares of planting area across the country, Yunlin accounts for 70% of production. But in the past, small peanut farmers handed over most of their harvest to distributors, and prices fluctuated greatly. To support small farmers, ETMall specially launched the “Eastern Farm” program and is working with central and local government officials to promote the direct delivery of premium quality agricultural products from local producers. Today (8th), Yunlin County Mayor Chang Li-Shan was invited to promote “Beigang Black Diamond Peanuts”, and became the 13th government leader to appear on the show. The Black Diamond Peanuts are cooked over low heat and comes in 11 packets per box, priced at NT$799 per box. Chairman Gary Wang of ETMall also offered an additional 50% ET coin reward, which is equivalent to only paying half for the products and getting the other half for free. Consumers showed their warm support, and the 2,500 boxes (27,500 packets) sold out very quickly.
The Black Diamond Peanuts are unique to Taiwan. The plant requires 120 days of growth, which is 20 days longer than the average peanut. It is also characterized by its hard shell and prominent raised veins of the pods. The flavor and texture is also more aromatic and delicate than ordinary peanuts, as well as being rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and a variety of vitamins. The peanut skin, which appears black and purple in color, is especially rich in anthocyanins and is a natural antioxidant, with a higher nutritional composition compared to ordinary peanuts. Consumers are recommended to eat the peanut skin along with the peanuts to enjoy the full benefits, making it a trademark of the Black Diamond Peanut.
Mr. Yu Ming-Cheng, a peanut expert from Beigang Township, is a third-generation peanut farmer. He and his wife founded the “Black Diamond Peanut” brand in 2015. The brand’s selling point is that the peanuts are grown using natural methods with only one crop per year and harvested in season, in order to produce the highest-quality Black Diamond Peanuts. The peanuts are only harvested after maturing for 120 days, then sun-dried for more than a week. During the drying process, the peanuts are tossed repeatedly by manually to ensure the peanuts can receive the most sun exposure possible and that the drying can take place evenly to bring out the flavor and crunch of the peanuts.
Yu Ming-Cheng said that there are 15 steps that the Black Diamond Peanuts have to go through before they become a packet of fragrant, crunchy peanuts. These steps include preparing the land for planting, sowing, fertilizing the land, weeding, flooding the fields, harvesting, sun-drying the raw pods, covering the peanuts, uncovering the peanuts, packing, winnowing, selection, cooking, second selection, and final packaging. It might be a strenuous process, but to ensure quality, he would rather have no peanuts to sell than to give customers poor quality peanuts.
Chang Li-Shan, who also appeared on the show with the small farmers, made her debut as a shopping expert to help promote the peanuts. She could barely contain her excitement and said, “I am so happy that I got the opportunity to come on the ETMall channel to promote the best agricultural produce of Yunlin County to the rest of the country. Yunlin County is blessed with a unique environment that has major rivers such as the Jhuoshuei River, Beigang River, and Huwei River, which have created fertile soil rich in minerals, so the rice, peanuts, and garlic planted here are of excellent quality. Today I will be showing you the peanuts, and I hope that everyone can get to enjoy this wonderful produce.”
The Lunar New Year is almost here, and peanuts are also known as “longevity fruit”, symbolizing good luck. Chang Li-Shan welcomes everyone to order as much of Yunlin Black Diamond Peanuts as they want to enjoy good luck in the New Year.
Chang Li-Shan said that come rain or shine, the perseverance and patience of farmers is highlighted when facing natural disasters. But many consumers live in metropolitan areas, and do not understand the famers’ hard work. However, through the enthusiastic promotion of shopping experts, the public will learn about the farmers’ dedication to quality and that they hope to grow the best agricultural products for everyone to enjoy.
Chang Li-Shan said that Yunlin is a large agricultural county and is blessed with a unique environment that allows a variety of high-quality agricultural products to be grown. However, since small farmers work independently, they must be provided with better channels to market their products. If they have stable income and make more profits, they will have the confidence needed to continue their business. She is very grateful to ETMall for its support of small farmers by providing platforms and sales channels. By helping small farmers, it is also helping the sustainable development of agriculture in Yunlin County. In addition, the products are carefully selected according to ETMall’s very high standards, and we are certain that the quality is guaranteed to satisfy consumers.
After the first collaboration between ETMall and the Yunlin County Government, both parties expect to have further opportunities to collaborate in the future. Chang Li-Shan pointed out that Yunlin County is not only the largest grain producer in Taiwan, but also the largest vegetable and fruit center, as well as the largest livestock center. It has the highest number of pigs raised in Taiwan, with a total of more than 1.56 million pigs. Especially now in the face of the importation of ractopamine-fed pigs, in order to let everyone enjoy and purchase pork without worry and with peace of mind, the pork from the Yunlin County Zero-Ractopamine Meat Alliance can also be marketed through the ETMall platform in the future, so that people can buy healthy and safe pork and not worry about food safety.
Having long cared for local farmers, ETMall launched the show “Eastern Farm” to support high-quality agricultural products of Taiwan together with local and central government leaders. Eastern Group mobilized its TV shopping and online shopping channels to stand together with small local farmers and called on its members to show love and take action to give back to farmers regardless of the cost. This year, we were the first to join the national agricultural and fishery products marketing team. With our support, we sold out 1,600 Chiayi Aurora muskmelons, sold 3,500 sets of Taitung atemoya in seconds, sold out 4,000 sets of Tainan Guanmiao pineapples, sold out 360,000 Tainan Dongshan oranges, and sold 8,000 fourfinger threadfins and hybrid giant tiger groupers. We achieved brilliant sales performance each time, and not only have we upheld the spirit of “EHS Select” to look for quality food and ingredients, but we have also assisted farmers in promoting domestic sales and allowing consumers to taste local delicacies again and again.
Eastern Farm adheres to the strictest selection and quality control process for the products, all of which are delivered directly from the place of origin to the customer’s home. After the launch of agricultural products, it has been warmly praised and received positive feedback from the majority of ETMall members. Over the years, we have upheld the spirit of “EHS Select” to look for quality products from all over Taiwan. We also hope to lead by example and inspire our peers to also support Taiwan’s local agricultural industry.