From January 2006, in calculation of exports and imports values, Taiwan's customs authorities will follow the norms stipulated in "International Merchandise Trade Statistics, Compilers Manual, 2004; IMTS," according to which exports value will contain the value of re-exports and imports value will contain the value of re-imports. According to the new method, Taiwan's exports and imports will increase by US$9.04 billion and US$1.01 billion, respectively, over the original figures, while total foreign trade will rise US$10.05 billion and trade surplus will double. Since the Ministry of Finance has yet to publicize detailed trade statistics of past years calculated according to the new method, except exports and imports value, as well as overall trade scale, original statistical figures are used in the following analysis and comparison.

In 2005, Taiwan's exports, imports, and foreign trade all ranked 16th place worldwide, at the same level of 2004.

In 2005, major factors behind Taiwan's exports growth include:

1. In the second half, both the domestic and international economy picked up, with China, South Korea, and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries all racking up remarkable economic growth.

2. Due to strong global demand for information communications and consumer electronics products, the development of China into the global production bastion for electronics products, the formation of cross-Taiwan Strait electronics industries into a close supply chain, and market opening by China after its accession to the World Trade Organization, Taiwan's upstream key components and parts enjoyed brisk sales to the Chinese market.

Major factors behind Taiwan's imports growth in 2005 include:

1. Continuous run-up in the international prices of crude oil and raw materials;

2. Increased import of transportation equipment, such as railway equipment and airplanes.

Major features of Taiwan's foreign trade in 2005 include:

1. Exports and imports values both hit record high and foreign trade surplus grew 27.2%, a sharp contrast to 63.8% decline in 2004.

2. Affected by continuous run-up in international oil prices, Taiwan's imports of the Middle East jumped 36.5% in 2005, boosting the region's import share by 2.1 percentage points, compared by drop of 0.1 percentage point for the import share of Asian nations.

3. Exports outlets further concentrated on China and Hong Kong, with shares of exports to and imports from China/Hong Kong rising to 37.8% and 12%, respectively, both record highs, up from 2004's 36.7% and 11.2%. Imports value from China and Hong Kong surpassed that from the U.S. for the first time, making China/Hong Kong Taiwan's second largest import source. However, Taiwan's exports to China, imports from China, and total trade with China all recorded the lowest growth rates since 2002. Meanwhile, shares of exports to the U.S. and imports from the U.S. dropped further, to 15.1% and 11.6%, respectively, both record lows.

4. Trade surplus with China/Hong Kong and trade deficits with Japan and South Korea all hit record highs.

5. In 2005, total exports orders reached US$256.4 billion in value, up 19.2% over the 2004 level, mainly due to strong global demand for consumer electronics products. Electronics products, information/communications products, and basis metals were still the three largest recipients of exports orders. Benefiting from the expansion in the demand of the panel industry, electrical machinery and precision equipment racked up growth rates of 56.1% and 35.6%, respectively, in their orders.

6. As a mainstay of Taiwan's exports, heavy-chemical industry racked up US$148.44 billion of exports value, up 10.6%, accounting for 78.4% of the total exports, compared with 2004's 77.2%. Both exports value and share of the industry are record highs.

7. In 2005, exports and imports of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, Taiwan's hi-tech industry bastion, declined 0.2% and 2.8%, respectively, in sharp contrast to growth rates of 27.4% and 58.4% in 2004. Optical industry staged the best performance, boasting 13.4% and 15.3% of growth rates for exports and imports, respectively. Its exports value surpassed that of computer and peripherals industry for the first time, making it the second largest industry, in terms of both exports and imports, in the park. The Ics industry, the largest industry in terms of both exports and imports, recorded minuscule growth of 1.5% in exports value and suffered decline of 7.1% in imports value, in sharp contrast to 70.7% imports growth in 2004.