Taiwan’s exports grow for 2nd straight month in December

Taipei-Taiwan's exports for December rose from a year earlier for the second consecutive month with the electronics sector in traditional peak season seeing an increase in shipments, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday.

Data compiled by the ministry showed Taiwan's exports rose 4.0 percent from a year earlier to US$29.50 billion after a 3.3 percent year-on-year increase in November.

On a month-to-month basis, Taiwan's outbound sales also rose 3.2 percent in December, the data indicated.

The MOF said the country's imports for December rose 13.9 percent from a year earlier to US$26.99 billion with a trade surplus of US$2.50 billion, down US$2.17 billion from a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Taiwan's exports hit a new quarterly high of US$87.06 billion, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier on the back of strong shipments of tech gadgets boosted by peak season effects.

However, Taiwan's outbound sales for 2019 fell 1.4 percent from a year earlier to US$329.34 billion as the country's exporters felt the pinch from falling global demand as a result of trade disputes between the United States and China in the year, the MOF said.

Imports for the whole year totaled US$285.86 billion, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier with a trade surplus of US$43.48 billion, down US$5.74 billion from a year earlier, the MOF added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel