Taiwan Export Order Growth Hits 23-month Low in September

Taipei, Oct. 24, 2011 (CENS)--Influenced by the European debt crisis, the value of export orders received by Taiwan's manufacturers and traders in September came to US$36.96 billion for an annual growth of 2.72%, the lowest level of its kind in 23 months, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

M. N. Tsai, deputy director of the Statistics Department of MOEA, indicated that the European debt has weakened the confidence of consumers in the global market, but it seems that situations are not so bad as seen after the global financial tsunami burst out in the second half of 2008.

The orders for information technology and telecommunication (ITC) products in September posted an annual growth of only 2.89% to reach US$9.67 billion in September. China still showed strong demand for such products although the demand in Europe and Japan fell. Export orders for ITC products placed by Chinese buyers reached US$960 million, surging 6.7% from US$900 million recorded a month earlier and orders for LCD panels presented a slight annual drop of 1.97% to US$3.15 billion.

In terms of regions, orders from Europe declined by 2.22% to US$6.82 billion in September, the first negative growth seen since November of 2009; and orders from Japan tumbled by 13.19% to US$3.68 billion, due mainly to the appreciation of the Japanese yen and declining market demand following the devastating earthquake hitting Japan in March.

In the same month, orders from China climbed up by 5.67% to US$9.73 billion and those from the United States up by 9.33% to US$8.43 billion. Likewise, orders from the six members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) rose by 5.09% to US$3.61 billion, yet the first single-digit growth since October of 2009.