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Quick Stats

Quick Stats

Organics Dashboard From Passport

  • Ying Chuan Food Co Ltd leads organic packaged food in Taiwan with a value share of 10.7% in 2021, followed by Union Rice Co Ltd with a share of 8.6% and Hohands Village Co Ltd with a value share of 6.0%.
  • The country ranks 39th in terms of forecast growth rate and 37th in per capita expenditure on organic products, partly due to the marginally low presence of organic beverages.

 

  • Driven almost exclusively by demand for packaged food, the organic segment in Taiwan recorded a market value of US$35.1 mn in 2021, representing 0.06% of global demand. 
  • The general reluctance of consumers to pay a premium for organic food is limiting the customer base to the high-income segment of the population, which is a significant impediment to growth, with a forecast CAGR of 2.8% for the period 2021-2026.
Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative Analysis

Quick Facts
  • Organic packaged food and beverages in Taiwan recorded an increase of 10.2% in 2021, to reach a market size of US$35.1 million. 
  • Organic rice led the value growth in organic packaged food, with a value increase of 12.5% in 2021.
  • Demand for organic beverages in Taiwan remains negligible, with a low likelihood of significant sales for organic beverages over the forecast period 2021-2026.
Market Trends
  • Organic packaged food remained high performing in the health and wellness category in terms of volume growth (albeit from a low base) in 2021. Rising health consciousness among consumers mainly drove the growth during Covid-19 – home cooking proved popular during the lockdowns, and consumers preferred to have minimally processed food that contains fewer or no artificial additives and preservatives. 
  • Rising health concerns during the pandemic have also supported robust growth in volume sales for naturally healthy packaged food. At the same time, demand for many other products in the category was further fuelled by the increasing adoption of low-carb, high-protein diets in the country. Naturally healthy and RTD green tea were preferred for immune-strengthening antioxidant properties during the pandemic.
  • Increased risk of severe Covid-19 infection among obese and diabetics made consumers explore health and wellness products that are low in or free from sugar in 2021. Better for you varieties such as reduced sugar RTD tea and reduced sugar sweet biscuits were placed on the market to capitalise on these ongoing trends. Rising health and wellness awareness has increased the importance of products associated with digestive system health – products containing probiotic ingredients performed well in several categories, including fortified functional packaged food and beverages.
Competitive Landscape
  • Organic beverages remained negligible in terms of value and volume sales. Organic products from international brands are barely available in the Taiwanese market, and most sales are made under private labels. The majority of organic offerings originate from local farms and distributors. Different organic certification standards in Taiwan remains an entry barrier for international players.
  • Taiwanese consumers carefully choose products like rice and remain loyal to trusted brands. For the period 2014-2021, the competitive environment in branded organic rice was dominated by the top 5 players: Ying Chuan Food Co, Union Rice Co, Hohands Village Co, Yeedon Enterprises Co, Hua-Tung Rice Corp, with a collective market share of about 63.4%.
  • Ying Chuan Food Co. remained a leader in the organic packaged food category with 10.7% of value market share in 2021, followed by Union Rice Co. Ltd. (8.6% of the market share in 2021) and Hohands Village Co Ltd (6% of the market share in 2021).
Prospects And Growth Opportunity
  • The launch of more better for you reduced sugar soft drinks that blur the lines between carbonated bottled water, carbonates, juice, and Asian speciality drinks are gaining popularity in Taiwan. For instance, Cheers+, recently launched by Tai Sun Enterprise Co., is made by adding vinegar to sparkling water – the drink tastes sweet and sour and claimed to have health benefits like increased metabolism, boost energy levels and aid digestion. It is expected that companies will launch similar products that combine fizzy textures with novel and refreshing fruit taste, prioritising health benefits over taste and flavour. 
  • Taiwanese consumers are inclined toward physical activities and sports for broader health concerns and severe Covid-19 illness risk associated with obesity and diabetes. As a result, reduced sugar sports drinks are likely to perform well over the forecast period. Companies are expected to offer a range of flavours and products that are low-calorie variants with no added fructose.
  • Reduced sugar RTD tea will remain the dynamic performer within better for you beverages; the category is expected to grow in volume and current value growth terms. To strengthen brand loyalty and win over customers, companies are expected to differentiate their offerings with innovative and distinctive flavours. Manufacturers are expected to highlight the sophistication in the brewing process as a marketing message to generate interest in their brand. For instance, the bittersweet flavour of Coca Cola’s Real Leaf accentuates “Cold-brewed bitter, slow-brewed sweet” as a marketing slogan.
General Health And Wellness Trends
  • The anticipated easing of the Covid-19 pandemic will lead people to resume their normal routine and spend more time out of home – to cook less at home and eat outside more often. As a result, it is expected that health and wellness packaged food will decline in total volume sales in 2022. In contrast, it is expected that health and wellness beverages volumes will grow during the forecast period. However, consumption patterns should stabilise after that, as both the categories are expected to grow from 2023 onwards. Health and wellness trends reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to fuel the growth in the category.
  • Due to rising demand of reduced sugar RTD tea products, better for you beverages are expected to show strong growth in volume terms over the forecast period. Low sugar and sugar-free variants are set to gain popularity due to the associated risk of high sugar consumption with obesity and diabetes. It is expected that rising awareness and better nutrition-related education will continue to drive the demand for fortified functional products, with probiotic variants are likely to lead the category. Naturally healthy packaged food and beverages is expected to grow as Taiwanese consumers increasingly opt for less processed, natural and nutritious food without artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.
General Economics And Demographic Landscape

Economy:

  • The Taiwanese economy was resilient to the Covid-19 pandemic, with real GDP growth accelerating to 6.4% in 2021 and projected to stand at 3.1% in 2022.
  • Private consumption has struggled in recent years and declined 1.1% in real terms in 2021, though is forecast to rebound to 3.5% in 2022.
  • Inflation is expected to be fairly stable at 1.8% in 2022, after standing at 2.0% in 2021.

 

Population demographics: 

  • The population of Taiwan was recorded at 23.6 million in 2021 – it is expected to slightly decline in 2022 to 23.5 million and remain the same till 2025.
  • The median age in 2021 was recorded at 42.7 years, an increase of 5.9 years since 2010. It is further expected to reach at 47.9 years in 2030.
  • The population of Taiwan is witnessing an ageing process, it is expected that 19.2% of total population in 2025 will be above 65 years of age. 

 

Income & expenditure: 

  • Taiwan recorded a savings ratio of 17.1% of disposable income in 2021, it is expected to remain at an average of 17.2% till 2030. 
  • Consumer expenditure per capita in 2021 was recorded at US$13,512 and is expected to grow by 3.2% in real terms in 2022. For the period 2020-2030, consumer expenditure is expected to witness a cumulative increase of 15.3%, averaging 1.4% annually. 
  • In 2021, the per capita disposable income in Taiwan was recorded at US$17,441, with an expected increase of 3.4% in 2022 in real terms. During the period 2020-2030, disposable income is expected to show a rise of 1.6% annually.
Data

Data

Organic Packaged Food And Beverage Data

Data type

Unit

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

CAGR
(18-21)

CAGR
(22-25)

Health & wellness products consumption [1]

USD million

4,129.4

4,229.7

4,287.7

4,416.7

4,485.6

4,603.3

4,720.7

4,850.6

2.3%

2.6%

Organic packaged food and beverages consumption

USD million

28.8

30.0

31.8

35.1

32.9

34.5

36.1

38.2

6.8%

5.1%

Organic packaged food consumption

USD million

28.8

30.0

31.8

35.1

32.9

34.5

36.1

38.2

6.8%

5.1%

Organic beverages consumption

USD million

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-

-

Organic packaged food and beverages consumption as a % of total health & wellness products consumption

%

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.8

-

-

 

[1] Health and Wellness Definition: Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products. The above definition and more can be referenced from the definitions table at the end of the report.

Economic And Demographic Data

Data type

Unit

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Total population

million

23.6

23.6

23.6

23.6

23.5

23.5

23.5

23.5

% Middle and upper class of total population

%

32.3

32.3

32.3

32.3

32.3

32.3

32.3

32.3

% Population aged 65+

%

13.9

14.6

15.3

16.1

16.8

17.6

18.4

19.2

% Population aged 0-14

%

13.1

12.9

12.8

12.6

12.4

12.1

12.0

11.9

% Population with higher education degrees

%

42.5

42.9

43.2

43.4

43.6

43.8

44.0

44.2

Average number of children per household

children

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.4

GDP per capita

USD per capita

27,820.1

28,606.5

29,934.9

32,652.9

33,688.9

34,644.0

35,445.3

36,179.8

Consumer expenditure per capita (US$)

USD per capita

13,478.8

13,946.8

13,956.6

13,512.1

13,946.4

14,324.4

14,525.7

14,746.6

Consumer expenditure per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages (US$)

USD per capita

1,745.8

1,819.7

1,951.3

1,802.0

1,857.3

1,906.0

1,932.8

1,962.3

 

Retailer And City Data

Top 5 Cities By Population

Data category

Rank

City/retailer

Population
(millions)

Top cities by population (2021)

1

Taipei

7.3

Top cities by population (2021)

2

Taichung

2.8

Top cities by population (2021)

3

Kaohsiung

2.8

Top cities by population (2021)

4

Taoyuan 

2.4

Top cities by population (2021)

5

Tainan

1.8

 

Top 5 Grocery Retailers By Sales

Data category

Rank

City/retailer

Top grocery retailers by sales (2021)

1

Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd

Top grocery retailers by sales (2021)

2

Chyuan Lien Enterprise Co Ltd

Top grocery retailers by sales (2021)

3

FamilyMart Co Ltd

Top grocery retailers by sales (2021)

4

Carrefour SA

Top grocery retailers by sales (2021)

5

Auchan Group SA

 

United States Department Of Agriculture Global Agricultural Trade System Data

Top 5 Export Commodities To Taiwan

Year

Country

Rank of
Product/Commodity

Product/Commodity

Export Value (US$)

2021

Taiwan

1

Organic Apples Fresh

10,183,805

2021

Taiwan

2

Organic Peach/Nectarine Fresh

2,325,888

2021

Taiwan

3

Organic Celery Fr/Ch

2,139,121

2021

Taiwan

4

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

1,932,622

2021

Taiwan

5

Organic Cauliflower Fr/Ch

1,499,622

2021

Taiwan

Total

Total Organics*

23,635,596

2020

Taiwan

1

Organic Head Lettuce Fr/Ch

6,520,996

2020

Taiwan

2

Organic Apples Fresh

6,377,719

2020

Taiwan

3

Organic Grapes Fresh

4,447,220

2020

Taiwan

4

Organic Peach/Nectarine Fresh

3,196,625

2020

Taiwan

5

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

2,574,183

2020

Taiwan

Total

Total Organics*

29,389,440

2019

Taiwan

1

Organic Apples Fresh

6,689,299

2019

Taiwan

2

Organic Head Lettuce Fr/Ch

6,681,055

2019

Taiwan

3

Organic Coffee Roast Not Decaf

2,420,435

2019

Taiwan

4

Organic Grapes Fresh

1,806,740

2019

Taiwan

5

Organic Cauliflower Fr/Ch

1,778,095

2019

Taiwan

Total

Total Organics*

23,008,969

2018

Taiwan

1

Organic Head Lettuce Fr/Ch

6,768,970

2018

Taiwan

2

Organic Apples Fresh

5,845,004

2018

Taiwan

3

Organic Celery Fr/Ch

2,369,766

2018

Taiwan

4

Organic Cauliflower Fr/Ch

2,334,159

2018

Taiwan

5

Organic Peach/Nectarin Fresh

1,488,452

2018

Taiwan

Total

Total Organics*

22,206,540

 

Note : Total organics is the sum of all exports in a particular year   

Definitions

Definitions

Term

Definition

Health and Wellness

Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products.

Organic packaged foods and beverages

This category includes packaged food & beverages that are certified organic by an approved certification body. Organic production is based on:

• A system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.
• Organic food & beverages are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation.
• The use of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) is prohibited. “Certified Organic” means the item has been grown according to strict uniform standards that are verified by independent state or private organizations.
• Depending on the country, such products are called ‘organic’, ‘biological’ or ‘ecological’: For organic products to be included under Euromonitor definitions, the organic aspect needs to form part of positioning/marketing of the product. This is an aggregation of organic baby food, bakery, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, oils and fats, ready meals, rice, sauces, dressings and condiments, snack bars, soups, spreads, sweet and savory snacks and other organic food.

Note that fresh food products or individual ingredients are not included in this definition.

Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is the average annual growth rate over a specified period of time. For instance, the CAGR consumption of from 2018 – 2021 will be the average growth rates across these three years.

USDA GATS data clarification

The data presented in table 2.4 represents the dollar values of the top 5 organic commodities as well as of the total organic exports of the trade partner for the period 2018-2021 as per the United States Department of Agriculture’s Global Agricultural Trade System, a database consisting of international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present.

Policy Information

Policy Information

Government Agency(s) / Competent Authority

Authorized Government Agency(s):

Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) of the Council of Agriculture (COA)

Agency(s) Contact Information:

Agriculture and Food Agency, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, R.O.C.
No.8 Kuang-hwa Rd., Nantou county
No.15 Sec 1, Hangzhou South Rd. Taipei City
Telephone: +886-49-2332-380; 886-2-2393-7231

Council of Agriculture 37 Nanhai Road, Taipei, Taiwan 10014, R. O. C.;
Fax: +886-2-2381-2991

Web

Organic Regulations and/or Standards

Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:

Organic Agriculture Promotion Act (web site; in English)

Date of Implementation: 2007; Act and Regulations updated 2019

Regulation and/or Standard Scope:

The Certification Standard for Organic Agricultural Products and In-Conversion Agricultural Products and Allowable Substances in Their Production, Processing, Packaging, Distribution, and Sale establishes the basic aims and administration of the regulations. It covers important program definitions, applicability and details the certification process and requirements. Product in transition to organic may be labeled as such. Appendices cover specifics for crops, livestock, aquatic plants, processed products, as well as packaging, transportation, and permitted materials lists. Taiwan's organic regulations mandate that only products with 95% or greater organic content can be labeled as organic. Taiwan regulations do not allow product labeled as organic to test positive for any chemical residues.

The Regulations for Managing and Reviewing Imported Organic Agricultural Products establish the labeling and import requirements for organic goods. All materials, even natural materials, must be on the list in order to be used in organic production. The Taiwanese materials tables allow several substances which NOP prohibits in organic products. The list does not clearly indicate if materials are to be used for crop production, livestock production, processing or all areas of organic production.

Imported Products

In March 2009, Taiwan recognized the U.S. National Organic Program as equivalent to the Taiwanese Organic Regulations and accepted the use TM-11 documentation in lieu of transaction records required under Article 5 of the Taiwan's import regulation. For more information on the TM-11 requirements (.pdf; in English). Under this agreement, compliance with the Taiwanese Organic Regulations is not required except that systemic pain killers and analgesics including Lidocaine and Procaine are not to be used if NOP organic livestock products are sold to Taiwan. Only products that carry the USDA seal can be shipped to Taiwan under the equivalence recognition.

The United States has an export trade agreement (web site; in English) with Taiwan. The US National Organic Program maintains a list of accredited certifiers approved by the USDA, and indicates those that can issue TM-11 Export Certificates for exports going to Taiwan. 

On May 30, 2020, Taiwan and the U.S. signed an new organic equivalence arrangement, allowing organic products certified in the United States or Taiwan to be sold as organic in either market.  Announcement
More Information

Taiwan also has equivalence arrangements with: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand. More information

Certification and Accreditation

Council Of Agriculture (COA) is the Accreditation body and Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF) has been authorized as the only compliance assessment organization for Accreditation body by COA. TAF manages all organic certification bodies, including production, procession, package, and distribution certification, then approved by COA. A list of organic Accreditation Bodies and Certification Bodies is available.

Additional Information

U.S. International Trade Administration

USDA's GAIN Report Organic Trade Expansion Expected Under US Taiwan Organic Equivalency Arrangement (2020)
USDA's GAIN Report Taiwan Exporter Guide (2023) 
USDA's GAIN Report Growing Demand for Organics in Taiwan Stifled by Unique Regulatory Barriers (2017)
USDA's GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Taiwan Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Taiwan Food Processing Ingredients (2022)
USDA's GAIN Report Taiwan Retail Foods (2022)

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How to use this website

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) brings the US organic industry to developing markets around the world. This database is a comprehensive tool for OTA membership interested in participating in or expanding international trade in organic products by providing information to understand international markets for organic products. Select the country you wish to export to and find out whether it has an agreement with the United States, who its certifiers are, and much more.

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