Taiwan's exports fall 31.4 per cent in May

Jun 8, 2009, 10:56 GMT

   Taipei - Taiwan's exports fell at a slower pace for a second month, with overseas shipments dropping 31.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Monday.

   Exports amounted to 16.17 billion US dollars in May, down 7.42 billion US dollars from the same month a year earlier, but up 1.33 billion US dollars or 8.9 per cent from April's 14.85 billion dollars, the ministry said in a statement.

   The monthly decline was the ninth in a row but was less than the 34.3-per-cent drop registered in April, which already saw reduction in the scale of export decline compared with March's 35.8-per-cent drop, it said.

   May's decline, due mainly to reduced demand amid global economic downturn, showed signs of gradual export recovery, the ministry said.

   China together with Hong Kong remained Taiwan's biggest export market, with the island shipping 6.75 billion dollars worth of goods to the region, accounting for 41.7 per cent of Taiwan's total export values.

   The US followed, buying 1.85 billion dollars worth of goods from Taiwan, accounting for 11.4 per cent of the island's total export values, followed by Japan's 1.15 billion dollars, and Europe's 1.67 billion dollars, which accounted for 7.1 and 10.3 per cent of the island's total export values, respectively.

   Imports amounted to 13.01 billion US dollars in May, down 8.36 billion dollars or 39.1 per cent from a year earlier, but up 300 million dollars or 2.3 per cent from April's 12.71 billion dollars, it said.