Taiwan enjoyed a big jump in exports in June, thanks to its role as a key supplier of chips for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
Exports were up by 23.5% from a year earlier to $39.9 billion – its eighth consecutive monthly rise, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s export recovery exceeded a 11.45% forecast in a Reuters poll, while beating a 3.5% gain in May.
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The robust performance was thanks to “strong business opportunities in new technology applications” such as AI and high performance computing, the ministry said in a statement.
The second half of the year should see a continued uptrend in export momentum as exports enter their peak season, owing to the island’s advanced chip production capacity, it added.
Taiwanese firms such as TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple, Nvidia and other tech giants.
The ministry predicted that Taiwan’s exports in July could rise between 3% and 6% from a year earlier.
Exports to the US soared 74.2%, compared with a 36.4% surge in May.
Shipments to China — Taiwan’s largest trading partner — improved, up 7.3% in June on-year versus the previous month’s 5.3% drop.
Taiwan’s total shipments of electronic components rose 7.3% in June from a year earlier to $14.58bn, with semiconductor exports gaining 7.6%.
Taiwan’s imports jumped 33.9% to $35.22bn in June, above economists’ forecasts for a 15% gain.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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