Taiwan foreign trade up 11.63 percent in August

2014-09-11

Taiwan’s foreign trade surged 11.63 percent year on year to US$52.1 billion in August on the back of an improving global economy, according to the Ministry of Finance Sept. 9.

The MOF said Taiwan’s August exports rose 9.6 percent from last year to US$28.1 billion, the second highest on record for a single month, while imports gained 14.1 percent to US$24 billion. The net trade surplus dropped 10.7 percent to US$4.11 billion.

Yeh Maan-tzwu, director-general of the MOF Department of Statistics, attributed the surge to strong demand for Taiwan’s electronic products. Rising investment and private consumption spurred by positive domestic sentiment helped drive imports as well.

According to Yeh, electronics were Taiwan’s top export item, gaining 20.6 percent to a record US$9.23 billion, or 32.8 percent of all shipments. “Electronics alone contributed nearly two-thirds of the gain in total exports.

“What is more impressive is that exports of optical instruments and display panels increased 3.1 percent, ending a 12-month decline,” she said.

Machinery and minerals also chalked up double digit growth of 11.3 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, while basic metals picked up 9.9 percent over the same period.

Information and communications technology was the only sector registering a decline in exports, down 8.5 percent as demand for handsets shrank 54.3 percent from a year ago.

Mainland China, including Hong Kong, remained the top destination for Taiwan’s exports, accounting for 39.8 percent of all outgoing shipments at US$11.18 billion.

Taiwan’s six major trading partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were second at 19.1 percent, followed by the U.S. at 10.7 percent, Europe at 9.1 percent and Japan at 6.6 percent.

For the first eight months of the year, exports gained 3.4 percent to US$208.24 billion, mirrored by imports, up 3.6 percent to US$185.37 billion. The accumulated trade surplus inched up 1.6 percent to US$22.87 billion.

Yeh said she expects to see exports gather steam through the rest of the year as the global economy steadily recovers, especially with the arrival of holiday seasons in Europe, the U.S. and mainland China.

"Continuous introduction of new mobile devices and the increasing popularity of the Internet of Things will also create new opportunities for Taiwan firms," she added.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221416&CtNode=413)