News
April exports rise 38.7%
By ECCT staff writers
Taiwan’s total exports expanded 38.7% year-on-year to reach US$34.96 billion in April, according to a report from the Ministry of Finance (MOF). Total imports also rose by 26.4% from the same month in 2020 to US$28.79 billion. It was the tenth consecutive month of expansion, although the year-on-year comparison has to be seen in the context of the low base effect from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 as well as currency fluctuations.
Electronics component exporters posted US$13.51 billion in outbound sales in April, up 34% from a year earlier, while semiconductor exports rose 34.9% to US$12.24 billion due to strong demand for new technology applications, according to the MOF.
Electronics component suppliers accounted for 38.6% of Taiwan's total exports in April while exports generated by information communications and video/audio device suppliers hit US$4.71 billion, up 35.9% from a year earlier.
In the non-tech industrial sector, exports of base metals, plastics/rubber, machinery and chemical products rose 40.7%, 52.5%, 27.6%, and 55.4%, respectively, from a year earlier to US$2.65 billon, US$2.42 billion, US$2.20 billion, and US$1.90 billion in April, MOF data showed.
In April, China and Hong Kong remained the largest buyer of Taiwan's goods after imports from Taiwan rose 32.2% year-on-year to US$14.82 billion, accounting for 42.4% of Taiwan's total exports, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc was Taiwan's second biggest export market, buying US$5.77 billion of Taiwan's goods, ahead of the United States (US$4.93 billion), Europe (US$2.87 billion) and Japan (US$2.53 billion).
For the first four months of 2021, Taiwan’s total trade value rose by 25.4% compared to the same period in 2020 in US dollar terms (total export rose 28% while imports rose by 22.4%). However, when measured in New Taiwan dollars, total trade value was up only 18.3% due to exchange rate changes (exports were up 20.8% and imports expanded by 15.4% when measured in NT dollar terms).
