TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s exports rose sharply in February, driven largely by demand from the US for AI and information technology products, the Ministry of Finance said Monday, per Liberty Times.
The ministry said February exports reached NT$1.59 trillion (US$49.8 billion), the highest for the month on record. The figure represents a 26% year-on-year increase and marked the 28th consecutive month of export growth.
Exports to the US in the first two months of the year totaled US$37.02 billion, an 83% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the ministry. The US market accounted for nearly 50% of Taiwan’s total export growth during that period, making it the primary driver of expansion.
Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜), director-general of the ministry’s Department of Statistics, said factors including the rise of AI, global supply chain restructuring, and economic decoupling trends involving China helped the US become Taiwan’s largest export market. Tsai said the US accounted for 32% of Taiwan’s exports during the first two months of this year, the highest proportion in nearly 36 years.
Exports to Europe during the same period reached US$8.73 billion, a year-on-year increase of 67.3%, with both export value and growth rate setting records for the period, Tsai said. Shipments to ASEAN totaled US$23.58 billion in the first two months, also a record for the period.
Exports to Japan reached US$5.5 billion, marking another record for the period and a 28.9% year-on-year increase, the best performance in nearly 26 years. Meanwhile, exports to China and Hong Kong totaled US$28.12 billion during the first two months, a 25.4% increase from a year earlier. However, the share of Taiwan’s exports going to China and Hong Kong fell to 24.3%, the lowest level in 25 years.
Asked whether conflict in the Middle East could affect Taiwan’s exports, Tsai said an escalation could push up oil prices and disrupt shipping routes, potentially fueling inflation and weakening global consumer confidence. Such developments could ultimately reduce corporate profits and investment plans, triggering a global economic slowdown that would affect Taiwan’s exports, she said.
