Taiwan Brewers Association set up to support domestic brewing and counter Chinese imports
Taiwan’s big six brewers announced that they have formed a new industry group, the Taiwan Brewers Association (TBA), at a press conference on 5 August. The association aims to represent the local brewing industry and lobby the government for policies that provide more support local brewers and to increase import barriers.
Founding members of the new association are Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Company (TTL), Heineken, Taihu Craft Brewing, Zhangmen Craft Brewing, Buckskin, and Sunmai.
Ting Yen-che, chairman of TTL, has been appointed chair of the association. The TTL plans to integrate opinions within the industry and will seek to promote shared prosperity for all its members, he said. TBA members have already agreed to goals such as cultivating local brewing talent; innovating local agricultural products for beer production; promoting net-zero sustainable brewing; cultivating Taiwanese brewing culture; implementing responsible drinking; and working with the government and society to better Taiwan.
Ting said the two major challenges the domestic brewing industry currently face are net zero carbon reduction and reversing declining market share for locally brewed products, especially as a result of low-cost beer imports from China. According to government figures, the proportion of beer produced in China has increased from only 8% of the domestic market in 2015, to a current market share of 34%.
Rebecca Kuo, the secretary-general of TBA, also said that many beer-exporting countries benefit from supportive government policies, but Taiwan’s brewing industry lacks such support and vision. Moreover, local brewers can help the domestic economy by supporting local agricultural products and streamlining production and distribution which can help minimise adverse environmental impacts.
Forming the TBA will create opportunities to re-examine the current beer tax system, with a view to possibly providing tax exemptions or discounts to breweries that support the economy and grow tax revenue, said Kuo. Such measures would also attract more manufacturers to invest and build a better ecosystem for all of Taiwan’s breweries.
