Taiwan's export orders grow for 9th straight month

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's export orders totaled US$52.27 billion in November, marking the ninth consecutive monthly year-on-year growth, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Friday.

Although the figure represented a 5.7 percent decline from October, it marked a 3.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year, driven by robust global demand for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and the cloud industry, the MOEA said.

Breaking it down by product category, electronic product orders reached US$19.09 billion, the second-highest for the same period in history, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.2 percent.

Demand for TV stockpiling also boosted large-size panel orders, with optical equipment orders totaling US$1.78 billion, an annual increase of 7 percent, MOEA data showed.

Meanwhile, accumulated export orders from January to November reached US$536.62 billion, up 3.7 percent from US$517.2 billion in the same period of last year, according to the MOEA.

Overall, four major product categories -- machinery, plastics and rubber, basic metals and chemicals -- have shown upward growth over the past 11 months, despite some short-term fluctuations, the MOEA pointed out.

The MOEA projects Taiwan's export orders in 2024 will range between US$586.1 billion and US$588.1 billion, marking a 4.5-4.8 percent year-on-year increase and the third-highest annual performance on record, ending two years of decline.

Taiwan's export orders peaked at a record US$674.13 billion in 2021, slightly declined to US$666.79 billion in 2022, and totaled US$561.04 billion in 2023, marking the third-highest level on record.