Food and beverage retail sales continue to grow year on year

• Author: Chen Cheng-hui / staff reporter

Sales in the retail and food and beverage sectors increased by 2.4% respectively last month. and 4.1 percent compared to the previous year, accelerating compared to growth of 1.6%. and 0.7 percent last month, the Ministry of Economy announced yesterday.

Retail sales were NT$400.9 billion ($12.38 billion) last month, ministry data showed, up year-on-year for the 33rd straight month and marking the highest May sales figure on record.

The increase in sales was mainly due to increased consumption in supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarkets, as well as in e-commerce websites, beauty salons, car dealers and clothing stores, despite a decline in sales in department stores, IT and RTV stores and fuels. retail sales points – the ministry said in the report.

Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE

In the first five months of this year, retail sales amounted to NT$1.97 trillion, up 3.1 percent from the previous year and the highest result in the period.

The ministry said sales in the food and beverage sector reached NT$84.9 billion last month, up year-on-year for the fourth straight month and a record in May.

The ministry linked the show to Mother’s Day, which boosted restaurant sales, promotional activities that boosted beverage sales, and continued demand for onboard meals, which supported catering services.

The ministry said that from January to last month, food and beverage sales rose 4.8 percent year-on-year to NT$429 billion, also the highest on record in five months.

Sales in both sectors are expected to continue to grow this month, driven by Dragon Boat Festival promotions, end-of-school events and the launch of new vehicle models, he said.

Retail sales this month are expected to grow 1 to 4 percent year-on-year to NT$390.6 billion to NT$402.2 billion, while food and beverage sales are expected to grow 3.8 to 6.8 percent, to the level of NT$84.5 to 87 billion, the ministry said. he said.

In terms of the wholesale sector, sales last month rose 12.6 percent annually to NT$1.08 trillion, up for the third straight month, on rising shipments of machinery, chemical materials, food and tobacco products, and clothing and clothing, according to the report, he said.

According to the report, the growth was mainly driven by customer demand for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications, restocking by non-tech manufacturers and restocking by channel customers ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The ministry said cumulative sales in the first five months of the year rose 10.1 percent to NT$5.18 trillion, and sales this month will increase by 10.3 to 13.3 percent annually to NT$1.08 trillion. .11 trillion Taiwan dollars.