Exports last month declined 5.3 percent year-on-year to US$37.53 billion, ending 26 months of expansion, as demand for almost all product categories softened amid surging global inflation and monetary tightening, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Last month’s figure is the worst since June last year, dashing hopes of improving exports on the back of a high sales season.
“Demand for electronics, mainly chips, held resilient, but not enough to offset tepid sales in other product categories,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.
Photo: CNA
Inventory adjustments were extreme, and clients hesitated to purchase new stock amid fears of a global economic slowdown, the official said, adding that an ongoing slowdown in China is to blame for Taiwan’s disappointing exports.
Exports to China slumped 13.3 percent as Beijing’s stringent COVID-19 restrictions stifled economic activity.
Shipments to the US, Europe and Japan also weakened, edging down by 0.7 to 5.2 percent, but managed to grow in ASEAN markets, thanks to healthy demand for minerals and electronics products, Tsai said.
The disappointing state is likely to persist this quarter and through the first half of next year, following a contraction of 3 to 6 percent in exports this month, she said.
Shipments of electronics advanced 2.4 percent to a record US$16.99 billion, supported by solid demand for chips used in new technology applications, Tsai said.
Shipments of information and communications technology products contracted 4.4 percent, in line with poor sales for smartphones, laptops, servers and wearables.
The decline is particularly steep for optical devices, primarily flat panels, which tumbled 36.2 percent to US$699 million, the official said.
Demand for non-tech products also took a hit, with shipments of base metal and plastic products shrinking 26.6 percent and 25.2 percent respectively, the ministry’s report showed.
Mineral product shipments proved the exception, with a 33.4 percent spike given high oil prices globally, it said.
Imports fell 2.4 percent to US$32.51 billion, giving Taiwan a trade surplus of US$5.02 billion, 20.6 percent smaller than a year earlier, it said.
Lackluster imports came after local firms turned frugal in purchasing capital equipment and consumer products, which dropped 11.9 percent and 2.8 percent respectively from a year earlier.
For the third quarter, exports amounted to US$121.11 billion, behind the government’s forecast by 7 percentage points, indicating that the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics might trim its growth forecast next month.
In the first nine months of the year, exports expanded 13.5 percent to US$367.76 billion, while imports increased 18 percent to US$327.06 billion, the ministry said.
The trade data would be higher than last year’s level, but would miss the statistics agency’s rosier target set in August, Tsai said.
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