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In 2022, Taiwan imported record-high US$4.4 billion agricultural products from the US. Yet, due to COVID variants, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, labor shortage, and inflation issues, Taiwan's nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased 0.17 percent at $774.7 billion.

In 2022, Hong Kong was the world’s tenth largest spirits importer, with global imports recovering 7 percent year-on-year and valued at $502 million. From 2020-2021, Hong Kong’s imports and domestic sales of spirits were seriously hampered under the COVID-19 pandemic, as most restaurants, pubs, and bars were closed due to stringent dining, social distancing, and travel restrictions.

Hong Kong is an open market offering good opportunities for U.S. beer exporters. Over the last two years, both beer imports and domestic sales have been stable despite the pandemic. In 2021, Hong Kong’s global beer imports held steady from the previous year at $115 million, making the city the fourteenth largest beer import market in the world. Domestic beer sales recovered 9 percent from 2020 at $732 million.

Over the last five years, Hong Kong’s global imports of hops expanded 42 percent, growing 10 percent to $7.2 million in 2021. The United States continues as the leading supplier enjoying 96 percent market share. Hong Kong re-exported 72 percent of its hop imports to other markets in the region, retaining 28 percent for local breweries.

Taiwan MY 2023 fluid milk production is forecast to increase to 465,000 MT. During the supply chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, milk imports declined by 17 percent in MY 2021, pushing local producers to exceed production expectations to meet high demand.

Taiwan’s GDP per capita is expected to surpass Japan and Korea, making its consumers with the strongest spending power in Eastern Asia. At the same time, demand for international sweets and snacks are growing as consumers compensate for not being able to travel abroad. ATO-Taipei conducted retail research on popular products and origins to show market opportunities and preferences.

Taiwan is the seventh-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. Taiwan has vibrant urban communities and a highly developed e-commerce industry that provides convenience for customers, all which support Taiwan’s continued demand for safe and high-quality food products. In addition, evolving consumption trends suggest customers are increasingly looking for western-style food options that cannot be locally sourced. Since domestic food production alone cannot match increased food demand, agricultural imports will continue to play an important role in Taiwan’s retail food economy. While trade barriers exist and competition intensifies, opportunities to increase U.S. agricultural exports remain promising.

Taiwan is going through an unprecedented phase of high-end wine consumption growth, placing the United States as the second largest foreign supplier by value. Being the U.S. wine’s sixth largest valuable Asian market, Taiwan achieved its outsized impact for purchasing high-end U.S. wine.

Retail food outlets in Taiwan are comprised of convenience stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets, which generated $32.4 billion worth of sales in 2021, a 2.2 percent growth from 2020. The United States continues to be the leading supplier of consumer-oriented food and agricultural products to Taiwan with popular products such as beef and fresh fruit taking over 30 percent of total market share.

The United States is the leading supplier of imported consumer-oriented agricultural products to the Korean retail industry, shipping a record $6.2 billion in 2021. The outlook for U.S. products in the Korean retail industry is excellent for a wide range of products, including beef, pork, processed meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products, juices and soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, condiments and sauces, processed organic foods, coffee, bakery products, snacks and confectioneries.

Despite a small population of 7.4 million people, Hong Kong is the seventh-largest export market for U.S. consumer-ready agricultural products. Hong Kong has always been an attractive market for innovative U.S. food and beverage products as well as a gateway to the region.

The 2021 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world.