News
May exports decline for 9th consecutive month
By ECCT staff writers, MOF
Taiwan's total exports in the month of May 2023 contracted 14.1% year-on-year to US$36.13 billion while total imports fell 21.7% from a year earlier to US$31.25 billion, according to the monthly trade report from the Ministry of Finance (MOF). This marked the ninth consecutive month of export contractions.
In the first five months of 2023, Taiwan's exports have fallen 16.9% from a year earlier to US$169.81 billion while imports have dropped by 18% to US$149.31 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$20.5 billion.
In terms of major export sectors, electronic components, fell 9.9% in May from the previous year to US$15.05 billion, falling for the seventh consecutive month, with semiconductor exports down 8%, according to the data. The information and communications and video and audio industries were the only sector that saw an increase in exports in May, registering an 11.9% percent year-on-year rise to US$5.8 billion, mainly driven by an increase in shipments of computer parts and accessories, according to the ministry.
Broken down by region, exports to China and Hong Kong, and ASEAN fell by 19.4% and 16.9% in May. China and Hong Kong accounted for 35.3% of Taiwan's total exports in May, according to MOF data. Meanwhile, exports to the USA were also down by 3.5% from a year earlier to US$6.6 billion. However, Japan imported around US$3.06 billion worth of goods from Taiwan in May, up 7.8% percent from a year earlier, mainly due to strong demand for semiconductors while exports to European markets also rose 2.4% in May to US$3.69 billion, according to the data.
Year-to-date, exports to all regions are down from the previous year with the exception of Japan, to which exports have risen by 2.6%. Exports to China and Hong Kong have fallen the most in percentage terms (-26.7%) followed by ASEAN (-14.7%), USA (-12.7%) while exports to Europe in the year so far are down by just 1.2%.
