Taiwan's April exports soar almost 40% on AI boom

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) A boom in global AI development boosted Taiwan's exports in April by almost 40 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Friday.

Data compiled by the MOF showed Taiwan's exports rose 39.0 percent from a year earlier to US$67.62 billion in April, the second-highest level ever, trailing only March's US$80.18 billion, marking the 30th consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

Taiwan's imports totaled US$53.27 billion in April, up 29.2 percent from a year earlier, while the trade surplus increased 93.7 percent to US$14.35 billion.

In the first four months of this year, Taiwan posted US$263.35 billion in exports, up 47.8 percent from a year earlier, and US$196.05 billion in imports, up 33.2 percent, with the trade surplus reaching US$67.30 billion, up 116.9 percent from a year earlier.

Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜), director-general of the MOF's Department of Statistics, said massive investments in AI infrastructure and the advent of next-generation AI computing boosted demand for AI-related devices.

Tsai said tight supplies of electronic gadgets strengthened local suppliers' pricing power and contributed to export growth in April.

Still, April exports came in below the MOF's forecast of US$70.0 billion-US$73.5 billion as the shipment peak for some information and communications products faded, Tsai said.

Exports generated by the information/communications and audio/video industry rose 62.3 percent from a year earlier to US$30.57 billion in April, while the electronics components industry posted US$22.79 billion in outbound sales, up 38.9 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.

The two industries accounted for 78.9 percent of Taiwan's total exports, the ministry said.

The MOF said Taiwan's export strength remained uneven, with nontech industries lagging behind the tech sector.

Exports posted by the base metal and chemical industries fell 0.4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier to US$2.41 billion and US$1.61 billion in April, the data showed.

But the machinery industry benefited from efforts by semiconductor suppliers to expand capacity, reporting a 12.9 percent year-on-year increase in exports in April to US$2.24 billion, the data indicated.

The plastics/rubber and mineral industries posted US$1.57 billion and US$1.10 billion in exports in April, up 5.6 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, from a year earlier on higher crude oil prices, the MOF said.

In April, the MOF said, the United States remained the largest buyer of Taiwan's goods, purchasing US$21.53 billion worth of merchandise, up 63.8 percent from a year earlier.

The MOF said China and Hong Kong came in second after purchasing about US$16.0 billion worth of goods from Taiwan in April, ahead of the ASEAN bloc (US$14.32 billion), Europe (US$4.43 billion) and Japan (US$2.80 billion).

Amid enthusiasm over AI, the MOF forecast exports to range between US$67.8 billion and US$70.9 billion in May, up 31-37 percent from a year earlier.