Taiwan’s foreign trade reached an all-time high of US$52.73 billion in March on robust demand from emerging markets amid a steady global recovery, the Ministry of Finance said April 11.
“March exports and imports both gained 16.67 percent from a year ago to record levels of US$27.25 billion and US$25.48 billion. The strong showing indicates that the country’s economy remains on a sustained growth track,” said Lin Lee-jen, director-general of the MOF’s Department of Statistics.
Nine of the nation’s 11 major export items posted double-digit growth annually, with plastics and rubber products, chemicals and machinery delivering their best ever monthly performances, Lin said.
Exports to mainland China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan’s six major trading partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Europe all reached record levels, at US$11.25 billion, US$4.38 billion and US$3.06 billion, respectively. Exports to the United States jumped to US$2.96 billion, the highest since September 2006.
On an accumulated basis, exports for the first quarter of the year advanced 19.5 percent year on year to US$73.83 billion, while imports jumped 21.8 percent to US$69.26 billion.
So far Japan’s earthquake has had a limited impact on bilateral trade, according to Lin. “Exports to Japan in March slid 2.5 percent from a year ago, while imports from the country inched up 1 percent over the same period of time.”
While Japan is a major equipment supplier to Taiwan’s high-tech sectors, the effect of scaled-back shipments from Japan has been partially offset by an increase of imports from the Netherlands and Germany, Lin added. (HZW)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw