Taiwan Aug exports up 10.5 pct yr-on-yr vs 8.2 pct rise in July

Sep 7, 2007 - Taiwan's exports in August rose 10.5 pct year-on-year to an all-time high of 21.40 bln usd, compared with an 8.2 pct rise to 21.18 bln usd posted in July, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said.

Imports in August fell 0.3 pct year-on-year to 18.10 bln usd, compared with a 16.7 pct increase to a record high of 20.73 bln usd registered in the preceding month, it said.

Trade in August resulted in a surplus of 3.30 bln usd, widening sharply from a surplus of 450 mln in July, the MoF said.

Lee Li-shu, statistics director at the MoF, said the record-high exports in August was a result mainly of growth in exports to ASEAN countries and China; while exports to the US continued to drop.

"Exports to the US fell 11.5 pct to 2.65 bln usd....the year-on-year drop of 11.5 pct marked the largest fall we have ever experienced for exports to the US," Lee said.

The decline in imports was triggered principally by falls in the Middle East and ASEAN, she told reporters.

In particular, imports of crude oil amounted to 1.92 bln usd in August, down 25.1 pct from 2.57 bln a year earlier.

"Imports of crude oil fell 24.2 pct to 27.90 mln barrels in August, and the average price dropped to 68.92 usd per barrel from 69.48 usd a year earlier," Lee said.

The official also said growth in exports and the dip in imports led to the surge in Taiwan's trade surplus.

"The trade surplus of 3.30 bln in August stood as the second-largest in history, second only to the 3.62 bln surplus recorded in December 2005," she added.

For the first eight months of the year, the trade surplus stood at 14.29 bln usd, a rise of 32.6 pct from the same period a year earlier.

Exports in the January-August period rose 8.0 pct to 156.52 bln usd, while imports rose 6.0 pct to 142.23 bln usd.

In August, exports to Hong Kong and the mainland amounted to 8.89 bln usd, or 41.6 pct of Taiwan's total exports, while exports to the US reached 2.65 bln usd, or 12.4 pct, the MoF said.

Exports to Europe stood at 2.39 bln usd, representing 11.2 pct of the total; while shipments to ASEAN countries topped 3.30 bln usd, accounting for 15.4 pct, it said.

The finance ministry said August exports of heavy industrial and chemical products rose 12.6 pct year-on-year to 17.90 bln usd, comprising 83.6 pct of total exports.

Exports of chemical products were up 39.5 pct year-on-year; electrical engineering gained 38.8 pct; plastics were 14.4 pct higher; electronics products climbed 7.0 pct; machinery rose 5.3 pct; and base metals advanced 2.6 pct.

Exports of information technology and communications products were down 14.6 pct and textiles lost 5.9 pct .

Imports of agricultural and industrial materials in August fell 0.9 pct from a year earlier to 13.90 bln usd, or 76.8 pct of total imports, it said.

Imports of capital equipment grew 4.4 pct to 2.95 bln usd, the ministry added.