Taiwan's exports fall slightly below record level in July
Sep 24, 2004
Official says growth underpinned by continued economic recovery in the United States, Asia Taiwan's export orders remained healthy in August, but eased from the previous month's record level, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Export orders totaled NT$613.31 billion (US$18.06 billion; euro 14.69 billion) in August, up 25.54 percent compared to the same month last year. The August growth was slightly below the rise of 27.83 percent in July, when orders reached a record NT$629.61 billion (US$18.54 billion; euro 15.07 billion). The ministry said orders in August were underpinned by continued economic recovery in the United States and Asia, and the pickup in demand owing to the traditional peak season for the technology sector. Although the value and growth of August's export orders both eased from July's levels, it was just a hiccup before the peak season, said the ministry's top statistician, Chang Yaw-tzong Orders from September to December would be strong, said Chang. "The monthly value will likely set another record high in September or October," Chang told reporters. Orders from Europe and the United States would be key drivers, he said. In August, U.S. customers ordered NT$184.68 billion (US$5.44 billion; euro 4.41 billion) worth of goods from Taiwan, up 31.72 percent from August last year, followed by Hong Kong's NT$142.59 billion (US$4.2 billion; euro 3.41 billion), up 24.24 percent from the same period last year, the ministry's statement showed. Europe placed orders for NT$93.36 billion (US$2.75 billion; euro 2.23 billion) worth of goods, up 29.9 percent from August last year, while orders from Japan totaled NT$56.69 billion (US$1.67 billion; euro 1.35 billion), a modest 6 percent rise from a year ago. Orders for electronics products totaled NT$138.51 billion (US$4.08 billion; euro 3.31 billion) in August, up 36.5 percent from a year ago. Orders for information and communications products reached NT$105.24 billion (US$3.1 billion; euro 2.51 billion), growing 11.7 percent from a year earlier.
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