Pingtung County
Taiwan's agricultural leader: 21.67% of pigs, 40% fruit exports, first county with 1 GW renewables. Typhoon Krathon (2024) caused 62% of national ag losses. By 2026, smart farming and biotech test whether tech reverses rural youth out-migration.
Taiwan's southernmost county leads in agriculture, aquaculture, and renewable energy—a diversification model for post-industrial regions. Pingtung produces 21.67% of Taiwan's pigs (1.15M heads), 40% of fruit exports by value (pineapples), plus cocoa, dragonfruit, wax apples, and lemons (1,820 of 2,737 national hectares).
The Agricultural Biotechnology Park attracted 100+ companies with $473M investment. Smart aquaculture innovations—Aquaculture Calendar, Aquadlink monitoring—boosted fish farm output 20% while cutting electricity 30%. Taiwan's first floating solar panels and marine power projects deployed here; by 2022, Pingtung became the first county to integrate 1 GW renewable energy.
Typhoon Krathon (October 2024) inflicted NT$390M in national agricultural losses; Pingtung bore 62%—bananas, guavas, wax apples hardest hit. Aging population and youth out-migration strain the agricultural labor force, a challenge smart farming technologies partially address.
2026 trajectory: Agricultural biotech park expansion continues. Smart farming and renewable energy create new employment categories that may slow out-migration. The county tests whether technology-enabled agriculture can compete with urban opportunities for young workers.