Consumers in August spent NT$16.7 billion (US$575.5 million) at local pharmacy retailers, a 4.1 percent annual increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Pharmacy retailers include drugstore chains, such as Cosmed (康是美) and Watsons (屈臣氏), as well as independent pharmacies.
It was the second consecutive month of annual growth after sales were severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in the first half of the year, with sales in April and May dropping 8.3 percent and 9 percent year-on-year respectively, the ministry said.
The ministry defines pharmacy retail sales as including sales of medicines, medical equipment and dietary supplements, as well as those of cosmetics and skincare products.
Pharmacy retail sales declined during the first few months of the outbreak because cosmetic sales dropped, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“Taiwanese pharmacies make most of their money selling cosmetics rather than drugs, and when people cannot go out, they do not want to put on makeup,” Huang said.
Pharmacy retail sales returning to growth in July and August reflects that life is returning to normal, he said.
In the first eight months of this year, sales of pharmaceutical products rose 1.9 percent year-on-year, while those of cosmetics fell 3.6 percent, with overall sales declining 1 percent from the same period last year to NT$126.1 billion, ministry data showed.
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