The worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) could cut the nation's export orders by an estimated US$770 million in the second quarter, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a report released yesterday.
For the first three months of the year, export orders rose 10.17 percent to US$37.67 billion from a year earlier, the ministry's statistics department reported on Wednesday.
Orders from China and Hong Kong, in particular, rose 18.94 percent to US$8.2 billion in the same period last year, the department said.
"But these growth rates may slow in the current quarter due to the disease," said Chang Yaw-tzong (
"We expect Taiwan manufacturers may lose some US$470 million worth of orders from the SARS-affected China and Hong Kong in the second quarter," Chang said.
Orders from China and Hong Kong accounted for 21.77 percent of the nation's total export orders in the first three months.
The ministry yesterday released the forecast of export orders, an indicative of shipments in one to three months time, after it conducted a poll among 6,400 local companies on the impact of SARS. The poll was conducted between April 15 and 18, with 2,515 respondents.
In the survey, 115 companies said their overseas production lines were affected by the SARS outbreak, with 42 considering adjusting their overseas production to avoid supply chain disruptions.
About 440 companies, or 17.49 percent of the total, said in the survey that they expect the contagion will affect their sales in the second quarter. The restaurant sector will be hit the most by the disease outbreak, with sales down by more than 20 percent in the current quarter, the survey said.
Lee Kao-chao (
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