The value of Taiwan’s export orders in May rose to US$55.43 billion, the highest ever for that month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.

The May figure was a 6 percent increase from a year earlier, the first rise since a 25-month streak of year-on-year export order growth ended in April, the ministry said.

The value of Taiwan’s export orders in May totaling US$55.43 billion was also a 6.8 percent increase from the previous month, and beat the government forecast of US$51.7 billion-US$53.2 billion, said Huang Yu-ling (???), head of the MOEA’s Department of Statistics.

In the first five months of the year, Taiwan’s export orders rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier to US$280.46 billion, also a record for that period, data compiled by the MOEA showed.

The rise in Taiwan’s export orders in May can be attributed to eased shortages in production capacity, logistics, workers and raw materials as China gradually lifted a range of COVID-19 restrictions and continuous strong demand for emerging technologies and applications amid digital transformation, according to Huang.

Export orders for Taiwan’s electronic products soared 17.4 percent to US$18.55 billion in May, MOEA data showed.

Orders received by Taiwanese information and communication suppliers totaled US$13.94 billion, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier.

The increases were mainly driven by solid demand for 5G applications, high performance computing devices, automotive electronics solutions and web-based communication services, according to the ministry.

However, optoelectronics suppliers felt the pinch from falling demand for end-use products, such as televisions and notebooks, from China and Hong Kong, posting a 29.8 percent year-on-year decline in export order value, which reached US$1.81 billion in May.

The United States placed the largest number of export orders with Taiwanese suppliers, valued at US$16.89 billion in May, up 10.5 percent year-on-year.

It was followed by China and Hong Kong, which placed US$12.31 billion in orders, down 13.4 percent year-on-year, making them the only regions in May that posted a decline in export orders with Taiwanese suppliers.

Export orders from Europe reached US$10.43 billion, up 9.5 percent year-on-year, the MOEA said.

Export orders placed by ASEAN member nations totaled US$6.86 billion, up 33.3 percent year-on-year, the highest growth among all sources of Taiwan’s export orders.

Looking ahead, Huang said the ministry expects export orders of between US$55.5 billion and US$57.0 billion in June, which would represent 3.3 percent to 6.1 percent year-on-year growth.

The robust growth forecast is based on strong demand for Taiwan’s emerging technology products and applications, according to Huang.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel