KAOHSIUNG - A direct sea freight route opened Saturday between Taiwan's Kaohsiung and Pingtan in Fujian Province, drastically shortening the time of farm produce from the island entering the mainland market.

A freighter, operated by Taiwan trade shipping agency Wagon, departed from a port in Kaohsiung for Pingtan on Saturday afternoon.

The 178-nautical mile journey between the two cities will be shortened from two or three days to just nine hours after the opening of the new route.

The freighter was loaded with over 700 tonnes of fruit, vegetables and liquid crystal display panels, worth over 15 million yuan ($2.2 million).

All the items were purchased by trade enterprises from Pingtan.

Han Kuo-yu, mayor of Kaohsiung, said that he expected more high-quality products manufactured in Kaohsiung, including farm produce, to be shipped to the mainland market.