y's total exports, recording US$26.09 billion and representing a rise of 20.3 percent year-on-year, according to the latest cross-Taiwan Strait trade report recently released by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT). The bureau's monthly report indicates intensified trade relations across the Taiwan Strait in the first four months of 2008, with the total value of trade showing an annual increase of 20.8 percent to US$36.39 billion, representing 21.5 percent of Taiwan's external trade value during the period.
Taiwan finished the four-month period with a trade surplus of US$15.79 billion in terms of China trade, rising 19.3 percent compared with the figures recorded in the year-earlier period.
During the period, exports to China gained 20.3 percent, with a value of US$26.09 billion, capturing 30.1 percent of Taiwan's total export value during the period, according to the bureau.
Imports from China, on the other hand, rose by a larger margin of 22 percent to US$10.3 billion.
"The increase in import value was the result of the differentiation of cross-strait industry sectors, which led to rising import demand from Taiwan for electronic semi-finished goods and components," the bureau said, adding that the higher prices of imported steel and minerals from China also added to the rising figures.
Citing a continued export strength in trade with China, the bureau noted that the US$7.02 billion recorded in April's exports to the Chinese market represented an 18.6 percent rise year-on year. "The growth was mainly due to China's rising demand for Taiwanese electronic products and components," the press statement explained.
However, the report also indicated a lowered percentage of China's import market occupied by Taiwanese products, reaching only 9.8 percent January-April and representing a slide of 0.41 percentage points year-on-year.
"With China's industrial sector focusing on diversification, its import demands for iron, copper,energy and agricultural and industrial raw materials are getting stronger," said the statement, adding that those commodities are not Taiwan's exporting strengths.
According to Chinese customs statistics, Taiwan ranked third in China's import market, with US$35.76 billion trade value from January to April, lagging behind Japan and South Korea.
The major Taiwanese exports to China are machinery equipment and components, which together captured a trade value of US$9.1 billion during the four-month period, representing 34.9 percent of the total exports to China, according to the BOFT.
