Exports last month grew 4.4 percent from a year earlier to US$38.71 billion, thanks to strong demand from artificial intelligence (AI), which more than offset disruptions linked to the Lunar New Year holiday, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The amount represented the second-highest for January and the 15th straight month of expansion, beating the ministry’s forecast of a 1.4 percent decline owing to fewer working days, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said, adding that January is usually a slow season for tech sales.
For this month, the ministry expects exports to grow by 16 to 20 percent from a year earlier, bolstered by sustained AI demand and more working days, as this year’s Lunar New Year holiday fell mostly in January.
Photo: CNA
Exports for the first two months are forecast to increase by 9.7 percent to 11.5 percent, suggesting sturdy growth for Taiwan’s crucial economic gauge, Tsai said.
Exports of electronic components climbed 3.1 percent to US$13.99 billion, with chips contributing more than 90 percent, or US$13.04 billion, the ministry’s report showed.
Outbound shipments of information and communications technology products spiked 32.6 percent to US$12.5 billion, with hefty gains in sales of personal computers and peripheral devices, as well as routers, it said.
Inventec Corp (英業達), a supplier of AI servers and notebook computers, yesterday said its sales last month jumped 18.48 percent from a year earlier to a record-high NT$44.13 billion (US$1.35 billion).
Poor market demand and holiday disruptions weighed on sales of non-tech products, the ministry said.
Exports of base metal products shrank 1.6 percent, while exports of plastic and chemical products fell 12.3 percent and 18.7 percent respectively, it said.
Outbound shipments of minerals, transportation and textile products retreated 37.5 percent, 8 percent and 6.4 percent respectively, it added.
Exports to China including Hong Kong shed 11.7 percent, but rose 21.5 percent and 479 percent to Southeast Asia and Mexico respectively, as the two regions benefitted from ongoing global supply chain realignments, it said.
It remains to be seen if the relocations would help companies avoid US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariff hikes to address US trade imbalances with the rest of the world, Tsai said.
Imports slumped 17.2 percent to US$28.74 billion, as Taiwanese firms cut purchases of agricultural and industrial materials, as well as consumer products, but stepped up buying of semiconductor equipment by 41.9 percent, the ministry said.
That gave Taiwan a trade surplus of US$9.97 billion, up more than threefold from a year earlier.
Trump has said that Taiwan should increase its national defense budget and private investment in the US after “stealing” the US’ chip business.
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