Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 2006/4/27

**GAIN Report Number:** TW6014

TW6014

**Taiwan**

**Market Development Reports**

**Assessment of Nutrition and Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables in
Taiwan**

**2006**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Alan Hallman

AgTaipei

**Prepared by:**

P. Thao Hung

**Report Highlights:**

Although Taiwan is known to be a fairly health-conscious society, recent
studies have shown that 70% of the Taiwan population eats less than 3
servings of fruits and vegetables a day, placing Taiwan consumers well
under the goal of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day targeted
by nutritionists both in Taiwan and US. While the average consumer
understands the value of consuming more fruits and vegetables and,
indeed, believes him/herself to being eating a relatively healthy diet,
dietary and health trends speak otherwise. A more aggressive nutritional
campaign, focusing on the importance of increased fruits / vegetables in
the diet (e.g., the "5-a-Day" program) can be expected to improve
Taiwan's diet and improve sales of US produce in this market.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Taipei \[TW1\]

\[TW\]

**Table of Contents**

[Executive Summary 3](#executive-summary)

[Current Demand and Market Share for US Fruits and Vegetables
3](#current-demand-and-market-share-for-us-fruits-and-vegetables)

[Consumer Profile 4](#consumer-profile)

[Key Players in Health Promotion in Taiwan
5](#key-players-in-health-promotion-in-taiwan)

[Department of Health 5](#department-of-health)

[City/County Bureau of Health 6](#citycounty-bureau-of-health)

[Private Health Foundations 6](#private-health-foundations)

[Opportunity 7](#opportunity)

# Executive Summary

Prior to 2002, U.S. agricultural products, specifically fruits and
vegetables, enjoyed being the dominant agricultural import source to
Taiwan. Since Taiwan\'s accession to the WTO, U.S. agricultural market
strength has faced increased competition, requiring action to keep and
increase existing volumes for U.S. agricultural products. An opportunity
to boost volumes can be found in Taiwan\'s growing trend of poor eating
habits that is low in fruit and vegetable consumption. This report
identifies the need, opportunity, and key players that can help further
U.S. agriculture interests by promoting healthy eating of U.S. fresh
fruits and vegetables in Taiwan through an island-wide, nutrition
promotion program.

# Current Demand and Market Share for US Fruits and Vegetables

With 23 million people living on 13,900 square miles of land,
approximately the size of Delaware and Maryland combined, Taiwan relies
heavily on agricultural imports. Taiwan has historically proven to be a
solid market for U.S. agriculture products, specifically in imports of
vegetables and fruits. With a limited amount of variety in fruit and
vegetable production, Taiwan relied heavily on imports from the U.S.
prior to its entrance to the WTO. Second only to domestic growers, the
U.S. is the largest international supplier of fruits and vegetables to
Taiwan. In 2005, the United States exported more than \$110 million in
fruits and vegetables to Taiwan. Annual fruit and vegetable domestic
consumption total 2.9 million metric tons and 3.16 million metric tons
per year respectively. U.S. imported fruit makes up approximately 12%,
and imported vegetables makes up 9%, of total domestic Taiwan
consumption.

Since Taiwan\'s accession to the WTO in 2002, U.S. agriculture has faced
increased competition, and has lost market share. The drop in market
share can be seen most prominently within U.S. fruit exports while our
market share for vegetables may be slipping as well. Marketing that
differentiated U.S. fruits and vegetables may positively impact this
downward trend.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="5.041666666666667in"
height="2.7708333333333335in"}

# Consumer Profile

There is a portion of health-conscious consumers that are ideal
customers for U.S. agriculture products. A recent survey conducted by
the Formosa Cancer Foundation (FCF), a private cancer prevention health
foundation, on fruit and vegetable consumption habits of Taiwanese
children and their parents, revealed promising evidence that eating
healthy in Taiwan is not a bygone trend. According to the survey sample
of over 14,000 responses, 75% of adults enjoy eating vegetables while
84% of children enjoy eating vegetables. Moreover, survey respondents
accepted the notion of a balanced diet of 5 servings of fruits and
vegetables a day. More than half respondents including both parents and
children, 68% and 71% respectively, eat most of their daily fruits and
vegetables unprocessed in original form. Both children and parents enjoy
eating fruits. After Canada and Mexico, Taiwan is the third largest
apple importer of U.S. apples. As expected, apples happen to be a common
favorite for both parents and their children in Taiwan. The charts below
indicate the top three fruit preferences for parents and their children.

![](media/image3.wmf){width="4.989583333333333in" height="2.84375in"}

![](media/image4.wmf){width="5.0in" height="2.8541666666666665in"}

As the evidence form the FCF survey help illustrate, Taiwan consumers
have been known to be health-conscious consumers, but recent studies
have also shown that a growing number of Taiwanese are choosing a less
healthy diet. Poor eating habits start with Taiwan\'s youngest
consumers. A survey conducted by the John Tung Health Foundation, a
private health promotion foundation in Taiwan, of 742 kindergartens
across Taiwan revealed that snacks high in sugar, salt and oil content
were distributed to children in five out of 10 school snack times during
the course of the week. A significant number of Taiwan consumers are
putting minimal thought on actively consuming fruits and vegetables.
Another study by FCF concluded that 70% of the Taiwan population
consumes less than 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The United
States is only slightly better, where 65 percent of the population
consume less than three servings a day. However, government, public, and
private sector partnerships in the U.S. address the need for healthier
eating with a 5-a-Day campaign from the national to the local levels to
promote fruit and vegetable consumption.

In Taiwan, a mixture of both Eastern medicine concepts of nutrition and
acceptance of Western science co-exist and affect consumer
decision-making. The concept of nutrition has cultural facets influenced
by traditional Eastern medicine practices. Specific benefits are
attached to certain foods with accepted wisdom that if consumed, a
particular disease or ailment can be resolved. Foods are cautiously
chosen based on the individual\'s needs or ailments. This theory of
nutrition can include food items that are not scientifically-proven
healthy, but under this commonly accepted nutrition philosophy
consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables is encouraged.

Beyond understanding that certain foods including fruits and vegetables
provide benefits to one\'s health, changes in lifestyle including eating
out more and working in high stress environments has altered the
Taiwanese diet. Small eateries and fast food restaurants are very
popular, catering to the increasing number of consumers that have little
time to eat. Taiwan families are dining out more on food that is quick
on delivery but short on greens and generous with fat, oils, and
starches.

# Key Players in Health Promotion in Taiwan 

There are three main players in health promotion in Taiwan. Taiwan\'s
Department of Health is the main authority facilitating health promotion
messages at the federal level. Health promotion is also implemented at
the local city and county health bureaus, notably through their
influences in community outreach programs. Under guidance and funding
from DOH, local health authorities, and private donations, health
foundations are also key players in Taiwan health promotion.

## Department of Health

In terms of health promotion activities in Taiwan, the Department of
Health (DOH) is accountable for promoting health and facilitating
national health guidelines. Spearheading health promotional efforts is
the DOH Food and Sanitation Bureau. DOH annually generates a health
theme consistent with its overall health guidelines. Taiwan's official
health guidelines include:

1.  Keep an ideal weight

2.  Vary foods to maintain a balanced diet

3.  Eat 5 different grains during the 3 daily meals

4.  Consume high-fiber foods

5.  Eat less salt, grease, and sugar

6.  Consume high-calcium foods

7.  Drink more water

8.  Reduce liquor consumption

DOH, in addition to consulting scientific research, also takes
traditional Eastern Medicine theories into consideration and because of
this, is reluctant to impose federal policies upon individuals. The
official Taiwan health messages, including the annual health theme are
intentionally wide-ranging. Specifying any of these guidelines might
mislead an individual to a food that is not appropriate for that
individual. In this sense, DOH health guidelines are deliberately vague,
relying on nutritionists to formally determine an individual's health
needs.

With the aim of advocating these guidelines to the end consumer, DOH
uses government funding to provide grants for health advocacy projects.
DOH decides on a message consistent with official health guidelines,
determines the target audience, and makes the project available for
bidding. Non-profit organizations that work in health advocacy-related
matters compete for the funding by submitting activity proposals that
adhere to the desired DOH message. Once the funds have been allocated,
DOH follows up during the project to review the foundation's progress
and compliance with DOH mandates.

## City/County Bureau of Health

DOH has affiliate offices at the city and county levels. Health
promotion activities are limited to area of jurisdiction at this level,
vary by location, and are more focused on health measurement rather than
direct promotion. Through their efforts to coordinate school lunch
programs, train nutritionists, and provide community outreach, these
offices offer excellent access to larger consumer populations without
losing a target consumer focus.

## Private Health Foundations

Health messages at the consumer level are coordinated and distributed by
many health foundations using private and DOH funding. These foundations
work closest with consumers to encourage healthy lifestyles at the
grassroots level. Foundations take proactive approaches advocating
health on behalf of DOH. Besides bidding on projects proposed by DOH,
foundations also have the option to propose projects that vie for DOH
funding. A foundation generates an idea or campaign that is compliant
with DOH health guidelines and receives funding from DOH to execute the
project. These foundations also have the flexibility to request backing
from other government offices, for example, accessing student consumers
through the Ministry of Education (MOE) sponsorship and funding.

A foundation\'s scope of influence varies depending on the project and
funding. Most foundation operations are concentrated in Taipei where the
population is most dense.

Health promotion programs often attempt to reach farther south on the
island to major cities including Kaohsiung and Tai Nan through local
nutritionists or health bureaus. The current rudiment form of a 5-a-Day
program in Taiwan is a good example of the health promotion situation in
Taiwan. Through the efforts of the Formosa Cancer Foundation, Taiwan has
been exposed to a 5-a-Day program since 1999 because of the cancer
risk-reducing benefits to consuming fruits and vegetables. DOH has also
supported dissemination of this message because of the campaign\'s
consistency with general DOH mandates. The Foundation uses DOH-funded
workshops to train secondary school nutritionists invited from different
cities in Taiwan, on how to communicate the 5-a-Day programs to their
students. MOE endorses FCF and offers access to school nutritionists for
their program advocacy. Through this method, the 5-a-Day message is
distributed throughout the island. This grass-roots arrangement to
convey the message is slow to influence national eating habits.

# Opportunity

Taiwan\'s weakness in health advocacy lies in its passive approach to
define and communicate a federal health campaign that not only inspires
healthy eating habits, but also influences consumer decision-making on a
practical level. DOH\'s general health mandates, together with campaigns
from varying health foundations, leave Taiwan with health messages that
seem inconsistent and weak compared to temptations from less healthy
alternatives. The population\'s worrisome eating trend coupled with
DOH\'s desire to promote health presents a unique opportunity for U.S.
agricultural products.

U.S. agriculture interests can help strengthen a weak health message and
raise demand for healthy products like fruit and vegetables by
sponsoring a "5-a-Day"-type program along the lines that have been
historically successful in other countries. By positioning U.S. fruits
and vegetables as a healthy, preferred, and high-quality product, U.S.
agriculture interests can offer a mutually beneficial program to improve
health in Taiwan. Taiwan health authorities have been receptive with
FCF\'s approach to a 5-a-Day program in Taiwan. Moreover, private health
advocacy foundations like the FCF offer existing arrangements in
contacts, market knowledge, and domestic presence for easy
implementation of such a nutrition-focused program in Taiwan.

U.S. agricultural products face an increasingly competitive market and a
continuing battle to stabilize and increase market share. Capitalizing
on this opportunity to increase overall consumption of fruits and
vegetables, in addition to positioning U.S.-produced products as a
healthy and preferred product, can positively affect future trade
volumes.