The decline in exports deepened to 14.8 percent year-on-year to US$23.93 billion last month, falling by the fastest pace in six years, as demand in all trade partners fell for almost all product categories amid a global slowdown, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
It is the third consecutive month of double-digit decline this year, a worrying sign last seen during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 that drove the nation’s export-reliant economy into a recession.
“Lower crude oil prices can no longer be blamed for the contraction in both volume and prices,” Department of Statistics Director-General Yeh Maan-tzwu (葉滿足) said.
Rather, the soft global economy has sapped exports worldwide without any sign of stabilization in sight, she said.
Imports also fell,with a 16.7 percent slump to US$19.97 billion last month, from a year earlier, creating a trade surplus of US$3.96 billion, the ministry’s monthly report showed.
The double-digit percentage decline in outbound shipments cut across all trade partners except the US — to which exports dropped 6 percent, the report said.
iPHONE BOUNCE delayed
That means that the much-expected inventory building prior to tomorrow’s expected launch of the new iPhone model has yet to materialize, if it does at all, Yeh said.
Electronics shipments, which accounted for 34.2 percent of all exports, declined 11.4 percent to US$8.18 billion last month, the report said, as inventory adjustments lingered.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, recently said the adjustment is about to end, but chip packagers Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) and Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) said the process might take longer.
CHINA EXPORTS
Exports to China, Taiwan’s largest export market, tumbled 16.6 percent to US$9.32 billion last month, the report said, as the market struggles to curb a slowdown and reduce its dependence on foreign exporters.
Shipments to ASEAN shrank 18.9 percent last month and the ministry cited oil-price declines as the main reason.
Exports of oil-related products dropped 5.6 percentage points from total shipments with mineral and chemical exports retreating 45.8 percent and 21.2 percent respectively from levels seen during the same period last year, the report said.
modest base
Yeh said that a 15.5 percent downturn for basic metal and related products are further signs of weakening of global demand.
The ministry expects the contraction in year-on-year export data to narrow this month, given the modest comparison base from last year.
Poor exports should not hurt GDP growth further this quarter, because of a decline in the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback that is set to allow exporters to book noticeable foreign exchange gains, KGI Securities said.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
RSS