Exports last month rose US$9.4 billion, or 57.9 percent, from a year ago, to a record high of US$25.54 billion on the back of strong demand in Asia as the global economy rebounds, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Imports also soared US$9.3 billion, or 71.4 percent year-on-year, to US$22.3 billion, posting the highest amount since September 2008, when the global financial crisis hit the nation, it said.
“Since Asia accounts for 70 percent of the nation's export markets, the rapidly growing demand in the region for electronics products has significantly boosted our export performance,” said Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), head of the ministry's statistics department.
Lin said that last month’s exports surpassed the pre-crisis level of US$25.2 billion, adding that exports to China, including Hong Kong, the six ASEAN nations and South Korea all reached historical highs last month.
Of the US$9.4 billion year-on-year gain in exports last month, shipments to ASEAN saw the largest increase at 67.4 percent from a year earlier, or US$1.64 billion, followed by China, including Hong Kong, at 65.8 percent, or US$4.4 billion, data showed.
Standard Chartered economist Tony Phoo (符銘財) said in a statement that exports to Europe, which grew 49.1 percent year-on-year to US$2.5 billion, seemed to shrug off concern over Greece’s credit crisis, although they were still far below the record US$2.8 billion registered in June 2008.
“This indicates that the impact of the European sovereign debt crisis appeared to be far less than we had initially feared,” Phoo said.
Imports of capital equipment rose US$1.89 billion, or 114.1 percent year-on-year, to US$3.55 billion last month, representing the third straight month that imports have exceeded US$3 billion, the ministry's data showed.
In the first five months of the year, exports totaled US$109.2 billion, posting an increase of 52.7 percent year-on-year, while imports rose 71.4 percent from a year earlier to US$98.55 billion. The trade surplus reached US$10.7 billion, down 23.1 percent from a year earlier.
With exports reaching a record high last month, Lin is upbeat about the outlook for the rest of the year.
“[Monthly] exports could remain over US$20 billion for the rest of the year, with the fourth quarter likely setting a new record as it's the high season,” Lin said.
Also See: Economic growth could top 8%: Cathay
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