Browse Data and Analysis

Taiwan issued a new WTO notification (G/TBT/N/TPKM/541) on June 7, 2024, amending the labeling regulations for liquid milk, which will mainly impact the nomenclature of liquid milk from the United States. Currently, liquid milk from the United States can be labeled as "fresh milk" if it complies with CNS regulation.

Taiwan is highly dependent on agricultural imports due to its insufficient farmland. In 2023, it imported $3.66 billion of food and agricultural products, making it US' eighth largest trading partner in agricultural goods. This extraordinary amount is achieved also because Taiwan has one of the highest disposable incomes in north Asia, and consumers generally have positive impressions of U.S. food and beverage products.

Since Taiwan’s economy started taking off in the 1980s, larger disposable incomes have led Taiwan consumers to gradually demand diversification and broader options for their daily diets.

ATO Taipei, in partnership with thirteen Taiwan craft beer breweries and four U.S. craft beer importers, delivered a successful consumer-facing craft beer festival that promoted U.S. ingredients through 84 craft beers.

Taiwan's overall seafood imports declined to US$1.9 billion in 2023, down 11 percent from 2022. Seafood exports from the United States, however, grew by 40 percent, and amounted to nearly US$45 million. Among the top ten foreign suppliers, the United States is the only one that expanded exports.

In Taiwan, chocolate is one of the major categories in the sweets department. In 2023, the market imported $141 million worth of chocolate and related products, among which $29 million are from the US, making it Taiwan’s biggest chocolate supplier.

The U.S. Hoppy Duo IPA trade outreach event, featuring lead brewmasters from Sierra Nevada and Fremont breweries, achieved remarkable success in strengthening relations between the U.S. and Taiwan’s craft beer industries.

Taiwan’s soybean imports are forecast at 2.65 MMT for MY2023/2024 and MY2024/2025, a slight recovery from the previous MY. Weakness in feed demand due to animal diseases was one of the causes for lower soybean imports and reduced crush for MY 2022/2023.

In 2023, Taiwan imported US$3.7 billion agricultural products from the US, which accounted for 24.47 percent of the island’s total import value. Its food processing industry produced $30 billion of processed food and beverages, among which the strongest subsectors are animal feed, meat processing, baked goods, and non-alcoholic beverages.

In MY2024/2025, Taiwan’s wheat imports are forecast at 1.4 MMT. The United States is expected to recover market share from Australia due to better competitiveness and availability. MY2023/2024 and MY2024/2025 corn imports are forecast to recover to 4.55 MMT due to improved feed demand outlook, with restocking in both the hog and poultry sectors.

In 2023, for the second consecutive year, the United States remained the number one export market for Taiwan’s agricultural and related products, taking 17 percent (valued at $935 million) of Taiwan’s exports.

In 2023, the total value of U.S. agricultural and related products exported to Taiwan was $3.7 billion, a decrease of 15 percent compared to the previous year.