TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The finance ministry said on Thursday that coffee sales likely topped NT$40 billion (US$1.22 billion) in 2024, according to statistics for the year to November.
The ministry’s statistics department said the coffee industry recorded around NT$37.7 billion in sales in the first 11 months of 2024. It predicted December’s figures would take the yearly total to over NT$40 billion, which would make it the second consecutive year this occurred after sales reached NT$42.97 billion in 2023.
The ministry said “black gold business opportunities” created by coffee sales at convenience stores, petrol stations, and supermarkets are significant. It said these sales have led more coffee equipment retailers and wholesalers to enter the market.

The ministry said raw materials sold in the Taiwan coffee market are mostly imported, and a record-breaking 52,600 tons had entered Taiwan by November last year. Most of the imports in that period were raw coffee beans (71%), followed by coffee equipment (16.3%), and roasted coffee beans (12.6%).
The ministry said that in the same period, there were 4,824 coffee shops in Taiwan, 42.5% more than in 2018. Meanwhile, there were 693 wholesalers and 1,261 retailers in the coffee industry, an increase of around 23% and 29% respectively over the past six years.
Ministry figures also show that demand for specialty coffee is increasing along with overall demand. The ministry said this has driven domestic coffee bean production up to an average of about 900 tons produced annually since 2018.
In 2023 (the most recent year for which records are available), the ministry’s statistics showed that over 60% of locally grown coffee beans were produced in four regions. The biggest producer was Pingtung (18.6%), followed by Nantou (17.2%), Taitung (14.7%), and Chiayi (11.8%).