Exports to and trade surplus with China hit new highs

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on December 12, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's exports to China and Hong Kong together amounted to US$81.3 billion in the first 11 months of 2006. This is higher than the total annual exports of US$77.68 billion to the areas in 2005, and the highest of its kind ever recorded.

In the same period, Taiwan also posted a record surplus of US$56.96 billion in trade with China. This exceeds the full-year trade surplus of US$55.47 billion in 2005.

According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Finance, in November 2006 alone, Taiwan's exports to China and Hong Kong reached US$8.01 billion, the second highest of its kind. However, this also made Taiwan's export dependence on China soar past the 40 percent level for the first time, to 41 percent, while the ratio for exports to the U.S. market dropped to merely 13 percent.

Taiwan's major items exported to China included electronic products and related parts, electric machinery equipment and various machines, LED panels and other precision optical devices, basic metals, and non-metal products.

According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Finance, in November 2006, Taiwan's exports amounted to US$19.54 billion and imports US$17.12 billion, up 8.2 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, from the corresponding figures of November 2005. As a result, Taiwan posted a trade surplus of US$2.42 billion, up 10.9 percent from November 2005.

In the first 11 months of 2006, Taiwan's aggregate exports enjoyed an annual rise of 13.3 percent to reach US$204.42 billion, and imports saw an annual expansion of 10.5 percent to reach US$186.03 billion. The trade surplus for the period shot up 51 percent, or US$6.19 billion, from 2005, to reach US$18.39 billion.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's exports to the six members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) have been on the increase in the recent years. For example, in the third quarter of 2006, Taiwan's exports to the six member nations accounted for 13.66 percent of the total. (These six nations are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.)

The Ministry of Finance estimated that Taiwan's annual exports for 2006 might rise 12.5 percent from 2005, and imports might surge 11.3 percent. Taiwan's total two-way trade might break the US$400 billion mark to hit a new high in 2006, with a record trade surplus of over US$20 billion.