Export orders up 21 percent, MOEA says

Export orders in March rose 21.22 percent from a year earlier to hit a record US$20.90 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

In February, orders rose 7.68 percent to US$16.19 billion.

Orders -- indicative of shipments in one to three months -- totaled US$55.51 billion for a gain of 20.13 percent during the first three months of the year, the ministry said.

"Orders from Hong Kong reached a record in March, reflecting steady demand from China," Chang Yaw-tzong (張耀宗), the ministry's statistics chief, said at a press briefing. "That offset slowdowns in other parts of the world."

Orders from Hong Kong in March rose 29.28 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$5.07 billion after climbing 25 percent in the first two months.

Most Taiwanese goods bound for China are shipped via Hong Kong because of transport restrictions between Taiwan and its political rival. Orders from Japan gained 45.81 percent to US$2.28 billion and those from Europe increased 23.90 percent to US$3.16 billion, the ministry said.

Orders from the US, Taiwan's biggest export market after China, were up 18.87 percent to US$5.47 billion, the ministry added.

Export orders for information technology and communications products in March totaled US$3.55 billion, up 8.26 percent, while electronics rose 16.95 percent year-on-year to US$4.20 billion.