ASmith1946 > wrote:

> There are two Chinese words for "tomato." One is transliterated "xirongshi"
> as you note. It tends to be used by northerners.

Here I can only disagree: it's the most common term used in Mandarin

> The second and more common
> word is transliterated as "fan qui," whose direct translation is "foreign
> eggplant,"

fan qie, for the second, and I doubt it is the most common.
Now it is correct that qiezi means eggplant, but the translation you
suggest for fan (foreign?) sounds pretty strange to my ears.
My Chinese is quite rusty, but I would appreciate if you could explain
haw you got there

> although it is also sometimes translated as "western eggplant." It
> tends to be used by southerners.

western eggplant would become xiqie: never heard it, but it could be a
local usage
> >
> I'd greatly appreciate the source for the above information. I looked for
> Chinese export information through FAO, and did not locate much.
>
From personal experience (I spent several years working in China): be
sure a large European company tried to import bulk processed tomatoes
from there since 1986; if what you need is written information that you
can quote, I would not look into FAO records. Chinese Provincial
Authorities publish regularly import/export statistics: they are not
particularly prized for their accuracy, but still, better than nothing.
I am also aware of Italian newspapers (this must be a sub-italian
thread!) that reacted outreaged, a short while ago, learning that their
tomatoes could have came from the Far East. But that has happened,
surely, long before. If you need more details I would be glad to help
you privately: the address is valid

--
lilian