May exports hit new high

The figure set a new historical high, edging up from the previous peak of US$25.21 billion recorded in August 2008.

In the same month, the island's imports amounted to US$22.29 billion, representing a higher annual increase of 71.4 percent over a year earlier and marking the fifth-highest monthly figure of its kind ever seen.

As a result, Taiwan posted a trade surplus of US$3.25 billion in May, surging US$90 million from a year earlier.

Aggregate exports for the first five months of the year came to US$109.26 billion, up 52.7 percent from the same period of 2009, while combined imports for the same period posted a higher annual increase of 71.1 percent to reach US$98.55 billion.

The resultant trade surplus came to US$10.71 billion, down 23.1 percent or US$3.22 billion from the January-May period of last year.

Lin Li-zhen, director of the statistics department under the MOF, attributed Taiwan's shinning trade performance in May to the global economic recovery and particularly strong market demand in Asia.

Compared with April, the May exports showed an increase of US$3.61 billion and imports represented a rise of US$2.91 billion.

Lin said the island's shipments to mainland China & Hong Kong, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Korea all hit historical highs of US$11.19 billion, US$4.06 billion and US$930 million, respectively.

Exports to the U.S., Europe and Japan also hit their highest levels of US$2.7 billion, US$2.49 billion and US$1.57 billion, respectively, seen since the outbreak of the global financial tsunami in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The same tallies also indicated that Taiwan's exports to mainland China and Hong Kong together accounted for 43.8 percent of the island's total outbound shipments for the month, followed by 15.9 percent for exports to ASEAN, 10.6 percent for shipments to the U.S. and 6.1 percent for exports to Japan.

The top fix export product categories in May remained electronics goods, rubber and plastics products and parts, optical products, machinery and chemical products, with exports of the first three categories all hitting record highs in the month.

On another front, imports of capital equipment shot up 114.1 percent from a year earlier to reach US$3.55 billion in May, marking the third consecutive month for such imports to soar past the US$3 billion level. In this regard, imports of machinery equipment demanded by semiconductor firms posted the highest annual growth of 149.3 percent or US$1.32 billion.

Imports of consumer goods in May stood at US$1.73 billion, representing an annual rise of 48.4 percent or US$560 million. In the first five months, total imports of consumer goods reached US$7.79 billion, the highest figure for the same five-month period and surging 31.1 percent or US$1.89 billion from a year earlier. Imports of small cars posted the highest annual growth of 123.5 percent or US$410 million.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email