Exports last month rose 9.7 percent year-on-year to US$27.79 billion, the strongest performance for February since records began, as demand for most products increased, although mineral and textile exports remained soft, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The pace of the pickup is expected to accelerate this month by 15 to 20 percent to above US$30 billion after the Lunar New Year holiday disruptions of last month, the ministry said.
“The world appears poised for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in light of improving trade flows,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said, adding that the outlook for the global economy would brighten further as more people get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Technology firms have benefited from people in lockdown working and learning from home, leading to demand for flat panels, computers and smartphones, trends likely to continue after the pandemic has changed the way companies and people tackle business, shopping and other activities, Tsai said.
Shipments of electronic products increased 14.4 percent year-on-year to US$10.73 billion, with semiconductors registering a 15.3 percent increase to US$9.74 billion, the monthly report showed.
Exports of information and communication technology products advanced 7.3 percent, while exports of optical devices, mainly flat panels, soared 23.8 percent, it said.
Exports of raw materials such as chemicals, plastics and base metals posted growth rates of 2.7 to 18 percent year-on-year, the report said.
Exports of machinery equipment increased 10.7 percent, while those of transportation equipment surged 20 percent, it said.
Exports of minerals and textiles bucked the trend with declines of 44.4 percent and 6.4 percent year-on-year, as crude oil prices remained low, although they are showing signs of improvement.
Imports rose 5.7 percent to US$23.28 billion, giving the nation a trade surplus of US$4.51 billion, a 36.4 percent increase year-on-year, the report said.
Exports in the first two months of this year posted a robust 23.2 percent increase to US$62.06 billion, stronger than the 16.77 percent gain projected for this quarter by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics last month.
Major suppliers of semiconductors, ICs, notebook computers, flat panels and other critical components have said that they have more orders than they can fulfill.
Imports in the first two months of the year grew 17.7 percent to US$51.36 billion, translating to a trade surplus of US$10.7 billion, a 59 percent increase from the same period last year, ministry data showed.
Exports in the first half of this year would also benefit from a low comparison base last year when nations introduced lockdowns to rein in the pandemic, leading to diminished economic activity, the ministry said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for
RSS