Taiwanese Yuppies Provide Organic Foundation

TAIPEI - Feb 9/04 - SNS -- Rising incomes and worries about the safety and healthfulness of foods is stimulating interest in Taiwan in buying organic products among Taiwan's upper income earners.

There are no formal statistics on organic foods sales, but a recent Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) report estimates Taiwan consumers purchased US$49 million worth of organic food in 2002, a 75% increase over the US$28 million estimated to have been purchased in 1999, notes the U.S. agricultural attache here.

"The relatively small per capita consumption of organic products in Taiwan (as compared with markets such as Japan and the U.S., which Taiwan frequently follows) bodes well for continuing healthy growth in demand into the future," The Agricultural attache said.

The profile of the organic food consumer in Taiwan is 30 years of age or older, with a college degree, and an above-average salary. This target audience defines approximately 3% of the population (700 thousand consumers), concentrated in the northern half of the island.

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