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(Last updated: 14 Oct 2008)
Trends and opportunities
The market
Seafood is a very important part of the Taiwanese diet. Seafood consumption is roughly 45kg per capita, a number that is growing alongside rising household incomes and greater product innovation.
In 2006 approximately 129,000 households in Taiwan were involved in fishing, with 41 per cent engaged in coastal fishing, 22 per cent in offshore fishing, 24 per cent in inland aquaculture, and 13 per cent in marine aquaculture and inland fishing.
In the same year, Taiwan harvested 1.3 million metric tonnes of fish worth US$2.6 billion, of which 48 per cent came from deep-sea fishing. About half of Taiwan's total production was exported, with skipjack, squid, bigeye tuna, yellow-fin tuna, and tilapia as the leading exports.
In terms of exporting, Australian seafood is well-known and well regarded by the Taiwan market. Australia is regarded as a consistent source of high quality and ‘healthy and natural’ seafood. The most common seafood exported from Australia includes:
- rock lobster
- frozen abalone
- canned abalone (eg. greenlip and blacklip)
- crustaceans (eg. mud crab)
- oysters
There is also a well developed aquaculture industry in Taiwan. For instance some growers import long fin eel and juveniles for commercial production in Taiwan.
Taiwanese consumers are sophisticated and given their traditional preference for fresh fish and seafood, any frozen product must be of the highest quality in order to meet local standards. Furthermore, local importers and distributors are keenly aware of the differences in quality and price for products available from various suppliers. Taiwanese importers will not hesitate to change suppliers if product quality falls or prices increase.
(Source: Taiwan Year Book 2007 – Government Information Office, Taiwan -www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/index.html)
Opportunities
While the Taiwanese generally prefer live fresh fish and seafood, the combination of busy daily schedules, an increase in the number of dual-income families and a larger volume of purchases made through modern supermarkets has contributed to an increase in demand for frozen seafood products. Consequently, Taiwan presents good opportunities for Australian suppliers of frozen and processed fish and seafood products.
The niche market for Australian exporters is in high value products or native species, such as rock lobster and abalone.
The growing market presence of international hoteliers and restaurant chains coupled with rising foreign investment in Taiwan's hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) sector has led to greater awareness and demand for non-traditional foods, including seafood. Although restaurants in Taiwan predominantly serve Chinese cuisine, an estimated 15 per cent of the market is derived from international and fusion foods. Given the popularity of seafood in the traditional Taiwanese diet, there are opportunities for exporters to enter Taiwan's lucrative HRI market.
Taiwan's retail and food processing industries are also consolidating and modernising in response to fierce competition. Both industries are desperately seeking to increase efficiency in sourcing and are looking for new products and ingredients that will provide a competitive edge in the domestic market providing more opportunities for Australian exporters.
Competitive environment
Because of Taiwan’s well developed local seafood industry, Australian seafood exporters face strong competition from the local Taiwanese suppliers.
Primary suppliers of fish and seafood products to the Taiwanese market, include Thailand, the USA, Norway and Indonesia. At present, the market remains competitive with no clear dominating supplier countries, although there are clear regional advantages as indicated by the large presence of Thai, Australian and Indonesian fish and seafood producer.
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Tariffs, regulations and customs
Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for managing food safety and all associated laws, regulations and standards. All imported food items are inspected at the point of entry in Taiwan by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI), on behalf of the DOH.
In addition, the DOH commissions the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture to inspect all fresh fish and seafood products, including aquatic plants.
Processed foods are inspected for correct labelling, food hygiene and food additives. The importation of food additives is prohibited without prior authorisation from the DOH. A complete list of applicable standards and regulations can be purchased in Mandarin Chinese, directly from the DOH. Further information and labelling requirement is also available at www.doh.gov.tw.
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Marketing your products and services
Market entry
Taiwanese retailers use a variety of different methods to purchase products including direct sales, distributors and wholesalers as well as agents and representatives. For imported fish and seafood products, however, the vast majority of purchases are made through distributors and wholesalers.
All HRI segments primarily rely on importers, distributors, wholesalers, wet markets and retailers for their imported food supplies. Some independent small-sized establishments have begun making volume purchases of imported goods at local hypermarkets in order to avoid the hassle of more traditional import channels. Institutional players, meanwhile, are reliant on importers and distributors for the most part, but may also source products directly from the foreign producer.
In the hotel segment, food purchase decisions are usually made by food and beverage managers or the respective executive chefs. Those hotels that serve foreign foods or employ foreign chefs are subsequently more likely to require imported food products on a regular basis, commonly sourcing their needs through distributors and wholesalers.
Fast-food and family-style restaurant chains frequently maintain their own distribution centres, which manage purchases and supplies for the entire chain, island-wide. In addition, some chain restaurants will prepare meals at a central location and distribute the meals to their various locations around Taiwan. Smaller eateries most commonly source their food supplies from traditional or wet markets.
Agents and representatives also have the advantage of superior market intelligence and improved communication for customer servicing. Sales representatives play an important role in the direct sale of products. Generally speaking, foreign firms are better served by local agents with whom they have close ties.
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Contact details
The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is the Australian Government’s trade and investment development agency, operating as a statutory agency within the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio.
Austrade assists Australian businesses contribute to national prosperity by succeeding in trade and investment, internationally, and promoting and supporting productive foreign investment into Australia.
Austrade:
- Delivers services that assist Australian businesses initiate, sustain and grow trade and outward investment.
- Promotes Australia as an inward investment destination and, with the States and Territories, supports the inflow of productive foreign direct investment.
- Administers the Export Market Development Grants scheme.
- Undertakes initiatives designed to improve community awareness of, and commitment to, international trade and investment.
- Provides advice to the Australian Government on its trade and investment development activities.
- Delivers consular, passport and other government services in designated overseas locations.
A list of Austrade offices (in alphabetical order of country) is available.
More information
For further information please contact Austrade on 13 28 78 or email info@austrade.gov.au |
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