Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan's exports rose more than 18 percent from a year earlier in March, beating an earlier official forecast as emerging technologies created business opportunities for the country's tech sector, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Wednesday.Data compiled by the MOF showed Taiwan's exports totaled US$41.82 billion in March, up 18.9 percent from a year earlier and also above the MOF's estimate, which forecast outbound sales for the month as ranging between US$38.3 billion and US$39.7 billion, up 9-13 percent year-on-year.The latest export figures mark the fifth consecutive monthly year-on-year increase, the MOF said.In March, Taiwan's imports hit US$33.14 billion, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier with a trade surplus of US$8.68 billion, up 104.5 percent from a year earlier.In the first quarter, the country's exports totaled US$110.33 billion, up 12.9 percent from a year earlier, which also beat the ministry's forecast of US$107.0 billion to US$108.4 billion.First quarter imports hit US$91.38 billion, up 3.0 percent from a year earlier with a trade surplus of US$18.95 billion, up 111.4 percent from a year earlier.Speaking with reporters, Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜), director-general of the MOF's Department of Statistics, said Taiwan's tech sector benefited from solid global demand for emerging applications such as artificial intelligence and high performance computing (HPC) devices, while clients in the global supply chain rebuilt their inventories, further boosting demand.In addition, Tsai said, several old economy industries also saw a recovery in demand, adding momentum to March's exports which hit the highest monthly level for 20 months.Among the 11 major exporting industries, Tsai said, six reported year-on-year growth in March, marking the first time in 20 months a majority of industries have enjoyed growth.In March, exports generated by the information communications and video/audio industry soared 165 percent from a year earlier to a record monthly high of US$12.65 billion, which accounted for 30.3 percent of Taiwan's total exports, the MOF said.However, the electronic components industry posted a 5.5 percent year-on-year decline in exports totaling US$14.70 billion in March, while semiconductor makers in the industry also recorded a 6.1 percent year-on-year fall in outbound sales hitting US$13.65 billion, the MOF added.The decline reflected the restructuring of supply chains as many Taiwanese buyers moved their production back home and sales generated by local electronics component makers cannot be calculated as exports, Tsai said.Due to a move by the MOF to recategorize products under international standards by assigning parts of items to other industries, the optoelectronics and precision equipment industry posted US$905 million in exports, down 27.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry's data showed.In the old economy sector, which largely enjoyed a recovery in global demand, exports posted by the base metal, machinery, chemical, and mineral industries rose 1.9 percent, 0.8 percent, 3.8 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively, from a year earlier to US$2.54 billion, US$2.01 billion, US$1.62 billion and US$1.28 billion in March.However, exports generated by the plastics/rubber, electric machinery and transportation industries fell 1.5 percent, 2.5 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, from a year earlier to US$1.77 billion, US$1.12 billion and US$951 million in March.The double digit decline in the transportation industry came at a time when purchases of Taiwan's bicycles and bike components are falling, Tsai said.In March, China and Hong Kong remained the largest buyer of Taiwan's goods with purchases of US$12.72 billion, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 30.4 percent of Taiwan's total.The United States came in second after buying US$9.12 billion worth of Taiwan's goods, up 65.7 percent from a year earlier, ahead of ASEAN countries (US$8.899 billion, up 47.1 percent), Europe (US$3.43 billion, down 0.2 percent) and Japan (US$2.66 billion, up 8.4 percent).The MOF said export growth momentum is expected to continue in April, forecasting outbound sales will range from US$38.8 billion to US$39.9 billion, up 8-11 percent from a year earlier, marking the sixth straight month of year-on-year growth.(By Chang Ai and Frances Huang)Enditem/AW (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Focus Taiwan News Channel