Taiwan’s export orders surged 10.6 percent year on year in June to US$38.82 billion, buoyed by steadily warming global demand and a lower comparison base from last year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs July 21.
“June marked the fifth consecutive month of growth and the largest percentage gain since December 2012,” said Lin Lee-jen, director-general of the MOEA Department of Statistics. “The figures were much better than expected.”
For the first six months of the year, exports gained 5.4 percent to US$220.46 billion, the highest on record for the period.
According to the official, orders for seven of the country’s eight major export sectors registered growth, with electronics, chemicals and machinery leading the way at 17 percent, 16.4 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.
“The increasing popularity of handheld devices continued to spur business for Taiwan’s foundries, integrated circuit makers and memory producers,” Lin said.
“An improving business climate worldwide also boosted private investment and drove up demand for Taiwan machinery, especially from Europe, the U.S. and Taiwan’s six major partners from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” she added.
Precision instruments, including display panels, was the only sector experiencing a contraction as competition from South Korea and mainland China stiffened.
Mainland China, including Hong Kong, remained the top source of orders, up 14.5 percent to US$10.21 billion. The U.S. was No. 2 with an increase of 6.7 percent to US$9.41 billion, while Europe came in third at US$6.86 billion, up 15.2 percent from the year before.
The outlook for the following months is even more positive, Lin said. “With global heavyweights set to introduce more mobile devices in the near future, Taiwan exports are expected to continue picking up steam in the second half of the year.”
Taiwan Today