Red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) goodies have debuted in Taiwan via a K-food (Korean food) promotional campaign.
According to the Taiwan News on July 16, 2025, the program by the aT Center Hong Kong connected sports legends with consumers.
Basketball star Kai-Yen-Lee who plays for the New Taipei Kings resorted to fun-based games to highlight nutritional benefits.
As such, the promotion echoes a June 2024 bilateral exchange deal to ship fresh Korean ginseng selectively to the United States.
Top Products
Although the closest products to fresh roots at the Taiwan event were ginseng slices, red ginseng pharmaceuticals more than compensated.
Some of these ranged from Korean ginseng tea to black ginseng, extract powders and infant formulas.
According to the aT Center, Hong Kong branch, the eclectic mix showed that local ginseng can also be a daily nutritional alternative.
Fake Ginseng
Besides testing foreign markets such as Taiwan for new products, Korea is also fostering commodity genuineness.
A KBS News story on July 15, 2025 called to attention counterfeit sales of red ginseng overseas and offered some solutions.
Some of these are the 9,000 copyrighted registrations of Korean ginseng abroad that can fight fake products.
Another is the ability for a discerning customer to tell that exported genuine roots are usually even in size rather than uneven.
Banknote watermark technology also seals genuine products, whereby fake seals send automatic messages to alert customers.
Traders are especially keen to exploit Taiwan with genuine products, for it is among the top ginseng markets worldwide. The following statistics further explore a few red ginseng facts in South Korea and Taiwan.
South Korea’s and Taiwan’s Red Ginseng Statistics
South Korea is the world’s #2 biggest fresh ginseng root producer at 23,605 tonnes, worth $2.489 billion, as of 2018. According to the Korean Ginseng Institute, the country’s 2018 production value represented 42.2% of the worldwide output, next to China’s 48.6%. The United States came fourth behind Canada, with a 0.9% output share. Seoul’s leading niche ginseng product, however, is red ginseng, 90% of which reaches China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan.
Does red ginseng lead Korean ginseng market value?
Fresh ginseng roots boast a market size in South Korea of 10.3% or $182 million per year. Comparably, red ginseng (comprising premium ginseng products) represents 89.4% of the local ginseng industry at a market worth of $1.574 billion (2018).
Is Taiwan a major importer of ginseng?
Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), not only exports ginseng in bulk but is a top importer, too. While exports hit $12.5 million in 2018, imports were triple this figure at $36.9 million. Exports put Taiwan 6th globally that year, whereas imports elevated the country to the 3rd position, behind China and Canada.
Do any imports of ginseng from Korea reach Taiwan?
According to the U.S.’ APHIS, Taiwan together with China, Japan, Vietnam and Hong Kong absorb 90% of ginseng exports from Korea.