The health drink market showed a surprising slump in sales of nearly 9 per cent in 2006, failing for the first time to realize the same steady growth as in previous years, a representative of the industry said Thursday.

The health drink market used to be a battlefield for businessmen due to the lifting of restrictions and rapid changes in biotechnology. New drinks appeared on the market one after another, but while businessmen have continued to introduce new products, sales performance declined in 2006.

The industry representative suggested that the market ceased to grow because new products on the market did not perform as well as in the past while many established brands dropped out entirely.

Taiwan's health drink market grew steadily from NT$25 billion in 2003 to over NT$35 billion (US$ 1.06 billion) in 2005.