Taiwan’s optoelectronics industry posted a record output value last year by hitting NT$2.27 trillion (US$77.6 billion) amid strong international demand for Taiwanese solar components, LED lighting and electronic paper, the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA, 光電科技工業協進會) said yesterday.
The figure, up 37 percent from last year, smashed the record set in 2007, the association said.
The output value meant Taiwan seized an 18 percent share of the global optoelectronics market, Murphy Lin (林穎毅), director of PIDA’s industry and technology research division, told a media briefing.
“Flat-panel displays have led the growth of Taiwan’s optoelectronics industry for the last 10 years,” he said. “For the next five years, solar power and LED will take center stage.”
There have been signs supporting the trend, he said, as solar modules and solar systems reported the highest output growth last year among all optoelectronics products, by increasing 470 percent and 433 percent respectively.
The third-highest growth came from LED lighting, which expanded 130 percent, Lin said.
The output of the solar power sector is forecast to hit NT$299.8 billion in 2013, from NT$189.5 billion last year, according to PIDA’s statistics.
Asia has increased its weight in world solar battery production, with China commanding 38 percent of the production share last year, Taiwan taking 12 percent and Japan 11 percent, Lin said.
Production shares of Germany and the US were 14 percent and 13 percent respectively last year, the association said.
In terms of the LED sector, PIDA industrial analyst Deaphne Kuo (郭子菱) said the sector will see a boost as more Asian countries, such as Japan, Taiwan and China, deploy LEDs for street lamps and in government offices.
The falling price tags would also add to the attractiveness for people to buy LED lighting, she said.
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