Exports surge 18.1 percent to new high

Exports last month rose 18.1 percent year-on-year to a record US$20.09 billion, compared with a 16.6 percent rise to US$19.37 billion in August, the Ministry of Finance said.

Imports grew 10.9 percent year-on-year to US$17.27 billion last month, against a 17.1 percent rise to US$18.16 billion in the preceding month, the ministry said.

This translated into a trade surplus last month of US$2.81 billion, compared with a surplus of US$1.22 billion in August, the ministry added.

Lee Li-shu (李麗雪), director-general of the ministry's statistics department, said the record-high exports figure last month was driven mainly by growth in exports to Hong Kong and China, the US and South Korea.

In September, exports to Hong Kong and China totaled US$8.18 billion, accounting for 40.7 percent of Taiwan's total exports, while exports to the US stood at US$2.87 billion, accounting for 14.3 percent of the total, the ministry said.

Exports to Europe reached US$2.14 billion, representing 10.6 percent of the total, while shipments to ASEAN countries topped US$2.67 billion, accounting for 13.3 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, exports rose 14.9 percent to US$165.04 billion, while imports increased 11.4 percent to US$151.46 billion, leaving a trade surplus of US$13.58 billion, up 76.4 percent from a year earlier.