Export orders last quarter expanded at a faster-than-expected 16.2 percent annually to US$173.13 billion, the best first-quarter performance ever, aided by improving key component supplies and robust demand for chips used in 5G devices, servers and emerging technologies, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The figure beat the ministry’s estimate of US$168.9 billion to US$170.4 billion, indicating milder seasonal weakness.
Demand for information and communications technology (ICT) and electronics products were much higher than its expectations, and only a fraction of local manufacturers felt the pinch of China’s stringent “zero COVID-19” policy, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
That was evident in continued growth in export orders from China, including Hong Kong, which rose 11.4 percent annually to US$43.76 billion, the ministry said.
However, the situation remains dynamic as China imposes lockdowns in more cities and the pace of work resumption at factories remains uneven, it said.
It expects export orders to slide 9.1 to 11.5 percent on a monthly basis to between US$55.5 billion and US$57 billion this month.
That would represent an annual growth rate of 1 to 3.8 percent, the ministry added.
“We are conservative about export orders estimates, due to rising uncertainty. As China is tightening COVID-19-related controls, we are closely monitoring whether April will be a turning point,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said by telephone yesterday. “Besides, the supply chain bottleneck remains an issue.”
Another unfavorable factor is the Russia-Ukraine war, which has driven commodity prices higher and stoked fears of inflation worldwide, Huang said.
That could result in a global economic slowdown and subsequently depresses demand for goods made by Taiwanese manufacturers, she said.
During the first three months of this year, orders for electronics products — primarily semiconductors — surged 25 percent annually to US$57.77 billion, making the segment the biggest contributor to export orders, ministry data showed.
ICT products came next, with orders swelling 17.9 percent to US$47.76 billion, attributable to an improvement in key component shortages in the laptop and mobile phone sectors.
Orders for optoelectronics products fell 2.4 percent to US$6.97 billion, the only segment that suffered declines, due to falling prices of TV panel displays.
Orders for basic metals, mainly steel, jumped 19.5 percent to US$9.45 billion, thanks to an upward spiral in steel prices driven by commodity price hikes worldwide, the ministry said.
Orders for machine tools advanced 3.8 percent to US$6.7 billion as robust demand for semiconductors offset weakness in demand from China amid a weakening economy.
Orders for plastic products rose 2.7 percent to US$7.4 billion, while those for petrochemical products surged 21.2 percent to US$6.69 billion, buoyed by increases in global crude oil prices.
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