The value of export orders dropped 4 percent annually to US$37.32 billion last month, as soft demand for handheld devices from China offset the demand for handheld devices from other regions, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
This is the first time the nation’s export order values dropped annually since July 2013, the ministry said. On a monthly basis, the value fell 2.9 percent from March’s US$38.43 billion.
“Export orders for electronics dropped 0.9 percent annually to US$9.67 billion last month for the first time since June 2013, mainly due to fewer orders for semiconductor products for handsets because of weakening demand in the Chinese market,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) told a news conference in Taipei.
The continuing decline in orders from Japan for televisions also dragged down the export performance for electronics products, she said.
Orders for information technology products grew 6.1 percent annually to US$10.05 billion last month, following 12.9 percent annual growth in the previous month, as the weak demand for PCs and tablets offset rising orders for handheld devices, Lin said.
The ministry’s report showed broader declines in export orders for electronics, precision instruments, basic metals, petrochemicals and machinery products last month from a year ago, with those for precision instruments falling 13.6 percent to US$2.37 billion due to the softening demand of flat-panels for PC and smartphones, Lin said.
Orders for machine products declined 5.3 percent annually to US$1.85 billion last month, the first annual decline in the past 15 months, as the yen and euro volatilities affected competitiveness of local machine products, she said.
The US was still the nation’s largest export destination by country, with orders growing 14 percent annually to US$10.59 billion last month, the ministry said.
Orders from China and Hong Kong plunged 10.3 percent to US9.17 billion from a year ago, the deepest annual decline since August 2009, the ministry said, because of the rising localization of supply chains in China.
The continuing decline in international crude oil prices also affected the export order values for Taiwanese petrochemical products to China because of the falling average selling prices, the ministry said.
The value of export orders is expected to rebound this month, Lin said, citing increasing demand for handheld devices to benefit Taiwan’s information technology products.
However, this month’s value is likely to be flat or decline slightly from last year’s US$38.02 billion because of a higher base last year and the lack of growth catalyst this month, she said.
Export order performance in the second half of this year will to be better, fueled by the upcoming launch of an international brand’s new smartphones, she said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS