Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwan's food and beverage industry came roaring back in May with a monthly sales growth of 29 percent, the largest single-month gain on record, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Wednesday.
Food and beverage vendors saw their sales rise by 29 percent to NT$61.9 billion (US$2.1 billion) in May, although the figure was 8.7 percent lower than the NT$67.9 billion recorded in the same month last year, according to MOEA data.
The strong monthly growth was driven by the reduced risk of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Taiwan, as well as the Labor Day holiday weekend and family outings to celebrate Mother's Day, Wang Shu-chuan, deputy head of the MOEA's statistics department, said in a press release.
The country's retail industry also recovered in May, with sales growing by a monthly 8.3 percent to NT$300.8 billion, as consumers flocked back to shops and malls, Wang said.
The retail revenue, nevertheless, was a 5.8 percent decline from the NT$319.5 billion posted in May 2019, due largely to a slowdown in the tourism sector, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, supermarkets, convenience stores, hypermarkets and online/mail-order shopping posted gains of 8.5, 7.3, 14.2 and 22.2 percent, respectively, which were all records for the month of May, the MOEA said.
In terms of the outlook for June, Wang said the government's easing of its COVID-19 control measures on June 7, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday weekend and school graduation season are all likely to spur continued business growth for restaurants and retailers.
In the wholesale sector, sales fell 6.8 percent in May from a year earlier to NT$795.7 billion, as exports suffered as result of weak global demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the MOEA said.
