The region stretching from Namaxia (formerly Sanmin) to Baolai and Jiaxian in Kaohsiung constitutes Taiwan’s largest green plum–producing area. Meanwhile, Xinyi Township in Nantou County—home to the largest total area of plum orchards in Taiwan—is known as the "Hometown of Plums".

Green plums in Taiwan ripen around the Qingming Festival, with harvesting concluding in early May. Naturally sour and astringent, the fruit must be processed before consumption. As early as 1695, the Taiwan Fu Zhi (Gazetteer of Taiwan Prefecture) recorded:" Its flavor is sour; it can be made into salted plums."

Green plums were once among Taiwan’s major fruit exports to Japan. However, after 1990, an influx of low-priced Chinese plums caused Taiwan’s export market to collapse. Faced with this crisis, plum farmers turned challenge into opportunity by shifting their focus from overseas markets to domestic demand, seeking new pathways for surplus fruit.

Plums in Everyday Taiwanese Life — Plum Spirits Bring Global Recognition

Plum farmers devoted themselves to developing a wide range of processed products, including pickled plums, smoked plums (wu mei), plum vinegar, plum powder, plum sauce, and concentrated plum extract. They also actively promoted the use of pickled plums in cooking, allowing plums to become part of everyday Taiwanese life.

Minced pickled plum flesh is commonly tossed with chilled cucumber, bitter melon, or okra to create refreshing, appetite-stimulating dishes. Pickled plum–based dipping sauces help balance the richness of fried foods and barbecued meats, while adding a few pickled plums to soy-braised dishes enhances depth with layers of acidity and aroma.

Determined not to let Japanese plum liqueurs dominate the spotlight, the Xinyi Township Farmers’ Association used yellow plums—whose slightly yellow-tinged skins are ideal for distillation—along with natural spring water from the Yushan mountain range to produce a 50% ABV distilled plum spirit named Wild (狂野) in 2021. That same year, the spirit won Double Gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC), earning international acclaim and demonstrating that Taiwan is fully capable of producing world-class spirits.