Taiwan's Foreign Trade Stages a Strong Showing in Feb.

Taipei, March 8, 2011 (CENS)--Taiwan's foreign trade continued to rack up stellar performance in February, when exports jumped 27.3% year-on-year to US$21.25 billion and imports advanced 28.7% to US$20.33 billion, both record highs, reported the Ministry of Finance (MOF) yesterday (March 7).

The export figure decreased by NT$4.1 billion from January, however, due to less working days resulting from the disruption of Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. Average export value, however, topped US$966 million a day in February, higher than the daily average of NT$800 million for most other months, underscoring the continuing improvement in export performance.

Combined exports for the first two months advanced 21.3% year-on-year to US$46.6 billion, while total imports for the period surged 25% year-on-year to US$43.79 billion.

Except the U.S., shipments to major overseas outlets remained robust in the first two months, including mainland China/Hong Kong, the six original members of ASEAN (Association for Southeast Asian Nations), Japan, and Europe. Shipment share for the six ASEAN members, for instance, jumped to 16.6%, a record high.

Of the 11 major export items, six racked up record-high performance, including electronic products, basic metals/products, plastic and rubber products, chemicals, and transportation equipment. ICT (information/communications technology) scored a whopping 70.6% growth, the highest, followed by chemical, machinery, and textile products, all with over 30% growth in export.

Imports also had a strong showing. Imports of capital goods topped US$3.09 billion in February, a record high, including US$2.07 billion for machinery import, also a record high, which underscores brisk domestic investments.

During the Jan.-Feb. period, imports of capital goods reached NT$6.73 billion, also a new high, with machinery imports hitting US$1.38 billion in the two months, mostly semi-conductor manufacturing equipment.