The export orders of Taiwan saw the slowest pace of growth since 2002 as the international demand has reduced drastically following the global economic crisis and rise in Taiwan’s dollar.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs unveiled that export orders in Taiwan grew at the slowest growth rate in September 2008 since 2002, as reported by Bloomberg.
After an increase of 5.38% in August 2008, export orders recorded a rise of just 2.82% from September 2007. It is the smallest rise since March 2002. Also, September 2008 saw a 1.39% decline in the industrial production as compared to September 2007, falling from 0.66% (revised figure) in August 2008.
Further, following a hike of 2.18% in August 2008, orders from the US came down by 2.29% in September 2008. China and Hong Kong together constitute the biggest overseas market for Taiwan and orders from these countries jointly declined by 10.79% in September 2008, as compared to a fall of 8.86% in the previous month. Also, the total worth of export orders in September 2008 was $31.79 Billion, in comparison to $32.13 Billion in August 2008.
The main reason for the decrease in export orders of Taiwan is the falling international demand. The US, the biggest export market of Taiwan, is going through a financial crunch that ultimately reduced the orders for Taiwan’s products. The declining demand in the Asian markets like Singapore and China is putting even more pressure on the export industry of Taiwan.
Additionally, the exports of the country are also being opposed by the rise in Taiwanese dollar. This has made the country’s products expensive in terms of dollar and hence, problems are being faced by importers to purchase export goods from Taiwan.
With the speeding up of global financial crisis, the overall demand for Taiwan’s export is likely to record just single digit growth in 2008. The export of shipments also seems unhealthy for 2009. The conditions are expected to get better only when the whole world, particularly the US and other major export markets of Taiwan, recover from the global recession.
A Senior Research Analyst at RNCOS said, “Declining demand of export products from Taiwan has led to the decline in industrial production in the country. It will affect the people employed in the manufacturing industry of the country, as decrease in production means decrease in the number of employees. Further, the decline in exports will also lower the annual trade income of Taiwan.”
