Typhoon Morakot, which has wreaked havoc on the agriculture industry in southern Taiwan, is unlikely to disrupt the pace of economic recovery, economists said yesterday.
The typhoon halted stock and currency trading on Friday and is expected to send vegetable and fruit prices soaring in the coming days after washing away thousands of hectares of farm produce over the weekend.
Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源), president of Polaris Research Institute (寶華綜合經濟研究院), a Taipei-based think tank, said the storm dealt a heavy blow to farmlands in southern and eastern Taiwan, the main source of the nation’s vegetables, fruit and rice.
‘SHOCK’
“The storm is definitely a negative external shock that will cause huge property losses,” Liang said by telephone. “But it will not derail the economy from the course of recovery because the agriculture industry accounted for a small share of GDP.”
Agricultural production, including fishery and forestry, made up only 1.68 percent of GDP last year, while industrial production and the service industry constituted 25.15 percent and 73.17 percent respectively, the government’s data showed.
“Had science parks borne the brunt of the disaster, the economic picture would have taken a different outlook,” Liang said.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) predicted in May that the economy would contract 2.98 percent this quarter and return to 5.2 percent growth in the fourth quarter.
ADJUSTMENTS
Many expect the agency to adjust the figures upward on Aug. 20 when it is to update GDP data, after the economy improved faster than expected.
Paradoxically, the typhoon could help advance the economy as both public and private sectors pump funds into fixing broken bridges, roadways and other infrastructure facilities.
“There will be additional public works plans to clean up the aftermath of the typhoon, driving up demand for building materials and creating more jobs,” Liang said.
Wu Chung-shu (吳中書), a researcher at Academia Sinica, agreed that the economy would continue on the road to recovery.
STOCKPILES
Wu said the government always sets aside crops to help stabilize food prices in the wake of storms, and consumers can also switch to imported farm produce with comparatively stable prices.
The consumer price index, which declined 2.33 percent last month to a 40-year low, may recover somewhat this month, Wu said.
“There is no need to worry about the price hikes in vegetables and fruits because they will soon return to normal levels,” Wu said by telephone.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS