Print

Mail

wiki links

Exports see 14% y-o-y rise in October

Exports in October increased 14.2 percent from a year ago to US$13.11 billion, the highest level since November 2000, the Ministry of Finance reported yesterday. They also rose significantly from US$12.56 billion recorded for the previous month.

Imports last month also saw a year-on-year 6.9 percent growth to US$10.9 billion, leaving a trade surplus of US$2.22 billion in October, the ministry said.

"In light of the global recovery, both the nation's exports and imports are sure to experience a rise in the near future," Hsu Kuo-chung (許國忠), the ministry's statistics department chief, said at a press conference yesterday.

"Asian markets, especially those of China and South Korea, are the major driving force behind the nation's export performance last month," Hsu said.

While the pace of export growth may slow slightly to around 10 percent over the next two months, the finance ministry is upbeat about the nation's trade outlook for the year, Hsu said.

"The nation's exports and imports in this quarter may grow one percentage point faster than the estimates made previously by the Cabinet's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS)," Hsu said.

The DGBAS forecast in August that the nation's exports and imports may increase by 8.21 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

Taiwan's exports are climbing in line with booming demand in both China and the US, the nation's top two export markets. But an economist warned that solid US economic growth hadn't come yet.

"Although the US reported rosy economic growth of 7.2 percent in the third quarter, a full-speed recovery, which Taiwan can benefit from, may actually arrive in the US early next year," said Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), an economist at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
This story has been viewed 1666 times.