Retail sales and revenue generated by food and beverage sectors hit record highs last year on the back of strong domestic demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Thursday.
Retail sales last year rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier to NT$4.85 trillion (US$148.4 billion), while revenue posted by the food and beverage industry rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.04 trillion, data compiled by the ministry showed.
Department of Statistics deputy head Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) said that the consumer price index grew 1.89 percent last year, but retail sales still grew 2.6 percent, indicating strong domestic demand despite inflationary pressure.
Photo: CNA
In addition, dining out expenses in Taiwan grew 3.13 percent, but sales generated by food and beverage operators still rose 3.6 percent, which provided additional evidence of strong domestic demand, Huang said.
Department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarkets enjoyed record sales of NT$447.8 billion, NT$259.8 billion, NT$423.5 billion and NT$248.4 billion, up 9.2 percent, 5.4 percent, 8.7 percent and 5.1 percent respectively from a year earlier, the data showed.
Online retail sales also hit a new high of NT$653.3 billion last year, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, with retailers keen to diversify their sales channels, the ministry said.
Sales posted by restaurants rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$838.7 billion, while revenue generated by beverage vendors grew 3.5 percent to NT$133.1 billion, with sales recorded by the catering business up 13.3 percent to NT$65.9 billion, the data showed.
Last month alone retail sales totaled NT$433.2 billion, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier, with buying boosted by an increase in demand ahead of the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, which starts today, the data showed.
The food and beverage industry posted NT$96.0 billion in sales last month, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, with large-scale New Year parties and pop concerts pushing up consumption, the ministry said.
Retail sales are expected to range between NT$435.8 billion and NT$448.5 billion this month, up 3.1 to 6.1 percent from a year earlier, while revenue posted by the food and beverage industry is forecast to range from NT$100.2 billion to NT$102.9 billion, up 11.6 to 14.6 percent, Huang said.
Positive factors such as an increase in the minimum wage, tax cuts and cash dividend payments by listed companies are expected to maintain domestic demand and boost consumption this year, Huang said.
However, as the local population failed to grow and local departures still outpaced foreign arrivals, domestic consumption could be hindered by these negative factors down the road, he added.
Sales last year by the wholesale sector stood at NT$12.95 trillion, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier after revenue last month rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.17 trillion, the ministry said.
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