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Taiwan's food self-sufficiency rate only 30.3%
Taiwan's food self-sufficiency rate in 2023 dropped to 30.3%, the lowest figure in 18 years.
The Ministry of Agriculture's (MOA) latest Food Supply & Utilization Annual Report represents a drop from 30.8% in 2022 and 33% in 2013. Its lowest recorded rate was at 30.2% rate in 2005.
The MOA pointed to a decrease in the domestic production of rice, which is the largest single source of calories in Taiwan and that was partly caused by a drought which took place in 2023. The MOA also reported a drop in the amount of meat raised domestically in Taiwan. That decline was driven by factors that included avian flu and the modernization of pork-rearing facilities, which reduced production and led to a greater reliance on imports.
As for fresh produce, locally-grown fruit accounted for 83.7% of total fruit consumption in 2023 (a 0.8 percentage point increase from the previous year), while local vegetables made up 81.9% of the total (a 3.1 percentage point decrease).
The MOA says the food self-sufficiency rate was affected not only by domestic production volume, but also by people's consumption patterns.
