Machinery exports last month declined 2.1 percent to NT$50.8 billion (US$1.7 billion) from a year ago because of the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, the latest industrial data showed yesterday.
From January through last month, machinery exports were US$9.4 billion, down 6.2 percent from a year ago, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機器工業公會) said in a report.
EXPORTS FALL
During the first six months of this year, machinery exports to China, the largest export destination of the sector, were down 2.9 percent from the previous year to US$2.68 billion, while exports to the US, the sector’s second-largest export destination, dropped 0.5 percent to US$1.53 billion year-on-year, according to the report.
IMPORTS RISE
Meanwhile, machinery imports from January through last month rose 7.8 percent to US$11.67 billion from a year ago, with imports from the Netherlands and the US rising the most by 29.5 percent and 22.8 percent respectively, the report said.
“The New Taiwan dollar appreciated 0.22 percent to NT$29.55 against the US dollar on average in the first half of this year compared with a year ago, making local companies less competitive compared with their peers,” TAMI secretary-general Wang Cheng-ching (王正青) said in the report. “Lukewarm growth in the global economy has also dragged down the demand for machinery.”
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