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 (
"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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique