Coffee businesses set to post NT$40 billion sales for 2nd year in 2024

Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) Coffee sales were expected to exceed NT$40 billion (US$1.22 billion) in Taiwan for a second consecutive year in 2024, reflecting the growing thirst for coffee in Taiwan and the lifestyle it represents.

Taiwan's coffee shops, coffee retailers, and wholesalers generated a combined NT$37.67 billion in sales in the first 11 months of 2024, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reported Friday, and it expected sales to exceed NT$40 billion for a second straight year once the December figures were in.

It was unclear, however, if 2024 sales will reach the record NT$42.99 billion in sales set in 2023, but breaching the NT$40 billion mark again only confirmed the upward trend in Taiwan's love for coffee since 2018.

Between 2018 and November 2024, the number of coffee shops ballooned by 42.5 percent, or 6 percent a year on average, to 4,824 in Taiwan, according to data in a report released by the MOF on Friday.

And that does not take into account the thousands of convenience stores, supermarkets, and gas stations that are also serving fresh coffee to feed burgeoning local demand, the ministry said.

The growth in outlets offering coffee helped drive the 36 percent growth in annual coffee sales from NT$31.54 billion in 2018 to NT$42.97 billion in 2023.

Coffee shops alone have accounted for over half of the sales since 2018, hitting NT$24.59 billion in 2023 and NT$21.83 billion between January and November in 2024, MOF data showed.

Most of Taiwan's coffee is imported, largely in the form of coffee beans, with a record high 52,600 metric tons of coffee beans and products imported by Taiwan in 2024.

In recent years, raw beans have accounted for 71 percent of imports in recent years, followed by other coffee products at 16.3 percent and roasted coffee at 12.6 percent, the ministry reported.

Taiwan has produced around 950 metric tons of coffee beans a year in recent years, following a record high of 1,109 metric tons in 2018, thanks to growing demand for quality coffee and the rapid expansion of gourmet coffee outlets, the ministry reported.

Pingtung, Nantou, Taitung, and Chiayi counties have been the main production areas in Taiwan, according to the report.