Taiwan - CheeseTaiwan - Cheese

This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.

Last Published: 11/8/2019

Overview

Following a two-percent year-over-year decline, Taiwan cheese imports dropped to 31,576 metric tons with a value of only $150 million in 2018. Despite the overall downturn in imports, American cheese exports to Taiwan grew to 8,681 metric tons and led with a 27 percent market share, in part due to the declining production and rising cost of European cheese. Other major suppliers include New Zealand and Australia, which enjoy a 26 percent and a 10 percent market share respectively.

Cheese Market Unit: USD thousands

	2016	2017	2018	2019 (est.)
Total Market Size	NA	NA	NA	NA
Total Local Production	NA	NA	NA	NA
Total Exports	1,104	1,539	1,773	1,500
Total Imports	133,530	153,006	149,655	154,000
Imports from the U.S.	32,423	38,592	40,193	42,600
Exchange Rate: USD1	32.28	29.65	30.59	30.86

Note: Annual totals estimated based on available trade data.
Total Market Size = (Total Local Production + Total Imports) – (Total Exports)
Source: Global Trade Atlas (HS code: 0406)

Leading Sub-Sectors

Processed cheese is mainly used in the food service sector and accounts for approximately 42 percent of Taiwan cheese imports. Overall, the most popular and fastest-growing import varieties are cream cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar. In the retail sector, pre-sliced cheese accounts for 65 percent of cheese sales. Frequent supermarket and retail promotions improve consumers’ awareness of U.S. cheese and help them to appreciate the many ways to combine cheese with other, more traditional foods.

Opportunities

Per capita consumption of cheese in Taiwan is low compared with most Western countries and Japan. Local chefs and consumers can benefit from additional information on the wide variety of U.S. cheese products and their potential applications. The export growth of U.S. cheeses hinges on how well these groups can integrate cheese into a range of cuisines, as well as on the growth of prepared meal demand from convenience store chains.

Web Resources

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) website offers the following resources for U.S. exporters:

Official data on agriculture trade for specific products and commodities
GAIN Reports on international food and agricultural markets
FAS services for U.S. exporters and information on USDA market development programs
The USDA website lists current agricultural export requirements for Taiwan.
For additional information on the Taiwan dairy industry, Dairy and Products Annual 2018 (TW18031).
For more information on U.S. dairy exports, please visit the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

For additional information on the Taiwan market for food and agricultural products or to exhibit in the USA Pavilion at the Taipei International Food Show, please contact AIT's Agricultural Trade Office at: ATOTaipei@fas.usda.gov

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.