Taiwan’s exports last month grew 29.2 percent year-on-year to a record US$39.65 billion, as demand for electronics used in digital transformation and new technology applications increased, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Non-tech sectors also benefited from inventory replenishment demand, fueled by a continuing global recovery that allowed their growth to be faster than technology products, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.
The results outperformed her estimated gain of 23 to 27 percent despite fewer working days due to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Photo: CNA
“All major product categories saw solid gains, although optical devices, mainly camera lenses used in smartphones and flat panels for laptops and TVs, only increased 4.8 percent, the slowest in 14 months,” Tsai said.
Demand from remote working and schooling lessened as vaccination rates improved around the world, she said, adding that China’s tightened controls of non-school educational facilities helped dampen buying interest.
That accounted for relatively lackluster showings for shipments of optical and memory products, as some suppliers opted to arrange annual maintenance of spare capacity.
Overall, exports of electronics rose 26.8 percent to US$16.58 billion, thanks to record chip shipments that swelled 27.6 percent year-on-year to US$15.11 billion, Tsai said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the sole chip supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhone series, yesterday posted NT$152.69 billion in revenue for last month, the first rise above the NT$150 billion mark and representing a 19.7 percent upswing to a new high.
Shipments of information and communications products jumped 22.8 percent to US$5.4 billion, the ministry’s report showed.
Exports of base metal, plastic, chemical and mineral products posted steeper gains of between 32.5 and 139.8 percent from a year earlier as the US and Europe sought a return to normalcy despite ongoing COVID-19 infections.
Imports rose 40.4 percent to US$33.21 billion, as local semiconductor firms aggressively purchased capital equipment to meet business needs and upgrade technologies, the report said.
That gave Taiwan a trade surplus of US$6.45 billion, a decline of 8.6 percent from a year earlier, it said.
For the third quarter, exports advanced 30.1 percent, slightly missing the government’s August projection of 30.42 percent. Imports increased 42.5 percent, beating the forecast of 38.7 percent, the report said.
Exports are expected to remain vibrant this month with an increase of 21 to 25 percent and are likely to exceed US$40 billion, despite a high base last year, Tsai said.
For the first nine months, exports grew 30.7 percent to US$324.07 billion, while imports gained 33.3 percent to US$276.39 billion, the ministry said.
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