Taiwan’s exports set records last year, rising more than 7 percent from a year earlier, although many exporters fell victim to weakening global demand in the second half of the year, the Ministry of Finance announced.
Exports totaled US$479.52 billion, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier, beating the previous record of US$446.37 billion recorded in 2021, data compiled by the ministry showed.
The electronic components industry served as the main driver for last year’s export growth, posting US$200.14 billion in outbound sales, up 16.4 percent from a year earlier and accounting for almost 42 percent of the total, with sales from semiconductor suppliers rising 18.4 percent to US$184.14 billion, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
However, outbound sales in the fourth quarter fell 8.6 percent from a year earlier to US$111.81 billion, with exports last month dropping 12.1 percent year-on-year to US$35.75 billion — the fourth consecutive annual monthly decline — although last month’s fall moderated from a 13.1 percent drop in November, the ministry said on Saturday.
Last month’s exports were slightly lower than an earlier estimate by the ministry, which forecast they would fall between US$35.8 billion and US$37.4 billion, down 8 to 12 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, imports last year totaled US$427.6 billion, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier, with a trade surplus of US$51.92 billion.
The robust showing came even though imports last month fell 11.4 percent from a year earlier to US$30.96 billion, while the trade surplus dropped 16.7 percent year-on-year to US$4.79 billion, the ministry said.
Exporters faced headwinds in the second half of last year, caused by a decline in global demand, which paved the way for inventory adjustments in many industries, but the stronger first half helped Taiwan maintain its uptrend in exports for the full year, the ministry said.
Fast-growing inflation, which prompted aggressive rate hike cycles by major central banks around the world, discouraged consumers from spending, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to hurt the global economy, while a wave of COVID-19 infections in China also sent global demand into a tailspin, Tsai said.
A relatively high comparison base in December 2021 also affected last month’s exports data, she added.
All major industries last month reported a decline in outbound sales, except the semiconductor sector, which posted US$14.91 billion in exports, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier.
The broader electronic components industry, which includes semiconductor suppliers, saw exports fall 1.4 percent from a year earlier to US$16.04 billion — the second consecutive annual monthly decline, Tsai said.
The electronics industry accounted for 44.87 percent of Taiwan’s total exports last month.
Exports posted by the information and communications industry, and the video and audio industry together fell 10.7 percent year-on-year to US$5.19 billion, while exports reported by the optoelectronics sector fell 30.3 percent to US$732 million, the ministry said.
Old economy industries, in particular, felt the pinch from the global slowdown, with exports posted by the base metal, machinery, and plastics and rubber industries falling 22 percent, 9.4 percent and 33.8 percent respectively, to US$2.43 billion, US$2.24 billion and US$1.68 billion last month, the ministry said.
Exports posted by the chemical, transportation and mineral industries fell 28.4 percent, 11.6 percent and 25.4 percent respectively, to US$1.49 billion, US$1.17 billion and US$893 million, the ministry said.
While China, including Hong Kong, last month remained the largest buyer of Taiwan-made goods, exports to the country fell 16.4 percent from a year earlier to US$14.28 billion due to interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry said.
ASEAN countries were second, purchasing US$5.73 billion of Taiwanese goods, down 10.8 percent from a year earlier, while exports to the US, Europe and Japan fell 2.6 percent, 10.5 percent and 6.1 percent respectively, to US$5.67 billion, US$3.16 billion and US$2.59 billion, the ministry added.
For last year as a whole, China was the largest buyer of Taiwanese goods, with purchases totaling US$185.92 billion, down 1.6 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.
Looking ahead, Tsai said that weakening global demand and fewer working days this month due to the 10-day Lunar New Year holiday mean Taiwan’s exports are expected to post a year-on-year decline of 20 to 24 percent to between US$30.4 billion and US$32 billion.
While many major industries are expected to continue to experience a slowdown, Tsai said that the steel industry could see a revival, as some steelmakers in the region have raised wholesale prices, expecting robust demand.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
STUMPED: KMT and TPP lawmakers approved a resolution to suspend the rate hike, which the government said was unavoidable in view of rising global energy costs The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it has a mandate to raise electricity prices as planned after the legislature passed a non-binding resolution along partisan lines to freeze rates. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers proposed the resolution to suspend the price hike, which passed by a 59-50 vote. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) voted with the KMT. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT said the resolution is a mandate for the “immediate suspension of electricity price hikes” and for the Executive Yuan to review its energy policy and propose supplementary measures. A government-organized electricity price evaluation board in March
NOVEL METHODS: The PLA has adopted new approaches and recently conducted three combat readiness drills at night which included aircraft and ships, an official said Taiwan is monitoring China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises for changes in their size or pattern as the nation prepares for president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comment at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu’s (王定宇) questions. China continues to employ a carrot-and-stick approach, in which it applies pressure with “gray zone” tactics, while attempting to entice Taiwanese with perks, Tsai said. These actions aim to help Beijing look like it has
China is mischaracterizing UN Resolution 2758 for its own interests by conflating it with its “one China” principle, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan Mark Lambert said on Monday. Speaking at a seminar held by the German Marshall Fund, Lambert called for support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community at a time when China is increasingly misusing Resolution 2758. The resolution had a clear impact when it changed who occupied the China seat at the UN, Lambert said. “Today, however, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] increasingly mischaracterizes and misuses Resolution 2758 to serve its own interests,” Lambert said. “Beijing