News
Taiwan's exports rose 4.9% in 2020
By ECCT staff writers
In December 2020, Taiwan’s total exports expanded 12% year-on-year to US$33.00 billion while total imports rose by 0.9% from a year earlier to US$27.24 billion, according to report from the Ministry of Finance, resulting in a trade balance of US$5.76 billion.
For the full year 2020 total exports rose by 4.9% year-on-year to a record high level of US$345.28 billion, beating the previous high of US$334.01 billion in 2018. Meanwhile total imports expanded by 0.3% compared with 2019, resulting in a trade balance of US$58.79 billion.
While exports of electronic parts and components and information and audiovisual products rose to new highs in 2020, exports of mineral products (mostly fuels) and textiles were hit hard by the pandemic and fell 47.6% and 17.9%, respectively.
Exports of electronic parts and components rose 20.5% year-on-year in 2020 to US$135.6 billion, while exports of information, communication and audio/video devices were up 15.4% to US$49.18 billion. Meanwhile, exports of basic metal, machinery, and rubber and plastics products, however, fell 8.4%, 6.8%, and 5.8%, respectively, according to MOF statistics.
