Taipei, Nov. 21, 2012 (CENS)--Thanks to upturn in orders from the U.S. and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Taiwan’s exports orders rose, for the second straight month, 3.2% year-on-year to US$38.38 billion in October, the second highest ever, reported the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday (Nov. 20).
Lin Li-chen, chief statistician of the MOEA, noted that exports orders for the whole year may rack up positive growth and set a new high, exceeding the record-high amount of US$436.1 billion last year.
However, Lin Li-chen pointed out that the share of overseas production reached 51.3% in October, the highest since 2004 when the figure was available, meaning over half of the exports orders received in Taiwan was transferred to overseas factories for production. The share for overseas production was almost 100% for computer products.
Lin reported that practice of “domestic order reception and overseas production” distorts the real picture of export business. As a result, the MOEA plans to revise its calculation method for export orders by taking the factor of overseas production into account.
Lin attributed the better-than-expectation performance for export orders to good performance of traditional industries, including basic metals, plastics and rubber, and machinery. Information and communication technology products also received exports orders higher than expectation.
Lin pointed out that the advent of the Christmas busy season in the U.S. and Europe and the rollout of new smart phones and tablet PCs by local manufacturers will facilitate further growth of exports orders. Orders from mainland China for FPD (flat panel display), semiconductor, and plastics will also increase, thanks to its export upturn and demand for stocking up for Chinese New Year holiday.
Exports orders from the U.S. advanced 5.6% year-on-year to near US$10 billion in October, enabling the U.S. to overtake mainland China to become the biggest source for exports orders in the month. Exports orders from the six original members of ASEAN jumped 14% year-on-year to US$4.3 billion in October, representing the third straight month for orders from the region to score double-digit growth.
