The production value of Taiwan’s LED industry rose almost 15 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, as many countries have been supporting the environmentally friendly business, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
In the nine-month period, the output of the LED lighting sector totaled NT$7.6 billion (US$237.9 million), up 14.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 59.6 percent of total production value of the nation’s lighting industry, ministry statistics showed.
The significant growth of the LED sector helped boost the output of the entire domestic lighting industry, which climbed 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters to NT$12.7 billion, the statistics showed.
Since the government began recording output data for the local LED lighting industry in 2008, the production value has grown each year as consumers become more environmentally conscious, the ministry said.
Last year, the sector’s output hit a record NT$9.2 billion, making up 56.2 percent of the total lighting production value.
Based on the data for the first nine months, the ministry said the figure for the whole of this year could break last year’s record.
The ministry said the growth indicates that energy-efficient lighting equipment is gaining support in the global market, particularly as prices have been dropping since 2010.
In the first nine months, Taiwan produced 26.55 million LED lighting units, an increase of 13.8 percent from a year earlier, with 74.6 percent being exported, the ministry said.
The US was the largest buyer of Taiwan’s LED lighting products in the first 10 months of the year, importing US$172 million in goods, the ministry said, citing customs data.
However, the figure marked a 12.9 percent decline from the same period last year, due to a decline in the price of low-end LED lighting products, the ministry said.
In the 10-month period, LED lighting exports to the US accounted for 48.1 percent of Taiwan’s total exports, the ministry said, adding that the figure for the whole of last year was 51.6 percent.
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