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BOFT aims for 10 percent trade growth

After last year's trade performance which saw exports increase to record highs, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) said yesterday it hopes to see foreign trade grow by 10 percent this year.

The nation's foreign trade is expected to hit a record high of US$420 billion with the trade surplus reaching US$20 billion last year, the bureau said yesterday in a statement.

The value of foreign trade has surpassed the bureau's expectation and contributed more than 75 percent of Taiwan's GDP growth, it said.

Taiwan's foreign trade concentrates on electronics exports, information technology, telecommunications and machinery based on original equipment manufacturing, the bureau said.

But in the absence of major brand name products, Taiwan's foreign trade is more vulnerable to the fluctuation of international markets, the bureau added.

As Taiwan's import and export markets also focus on a small cross-section of countries, including China, Japan, Hong Kong and the US, the bureau will seek to uncover business opportunities in other markets to diversify the nation's trade risk.

The targeted markets this year by the bureau include Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia and Turkey, the bureau said.

Exports to these nations account for 17.6 percent of total exports.
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