Taiwan’s eyewear industry is experiencing rapid growth led by contact lens manufacturers, with total production value for 2017 projected to set a new record at more than NT$30 billion (US$1.02 billion), according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs Jan. 5.
From January to October 2017, the domestic eyewear industry recorded production value of NT$28 billion, an increase of 21.6 percent year on year, the MOEA said. Contact lens makers were responsible for 59.7 percent of total output, or around NT$16.7 billion.
The ministry attributed much of the gains to the top-notch R&D efforts of domestic contact lens companies. In addition to maximizing comfort and functionality, Taiwan manufacturers are targeting younger consumers by launching new products such as colored and enhanced-pupil contact lenses, the MOEA said, adding that local enterprises are also developing merchandise specially geared toward senior citizens.
Statistics provided by the ministry show that in the first 11 months of 2017, Taiwan’s contact lens manufacturers saw exports of US$331.7 million, an annual increase of nearly 25 percent. Japan was the largest buyer at 65.8 percent, followed by mainland China, 16.2 percent; the U.S., 5.2 percent; and Hong Kong, 3.5 percent.
U.S. demand for Taiwan-made contact lenses experienced the strongest growth, according to the MOEA, with exports between January and November 2017 rising 453.1 percent annually.
Taiwan’s contact lens sector is projected to surpass NT$20 billion in annual production value for 2017, setting another new record for the eyewear industry, according to the MOEA. (KWS-E)
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