TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s export orders climbed to NT$2.76 trillion (US$87.45 billion) in April, driven by robust AI demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said Wednesday.
The result marked 15 consecutive months of year-on-year growth, even as orders dipped 4% from March's record NT$2.87 trillion, per Liberty Times. MOEA Statistics Department Director Huang Wei-chieh (黃偉傑) said AI, high-performance computing, and cloud data services were the primary drivers, alongside rising international commodity prices.
Orders for information and communications products surged 89.7% year-on-year in April, while electronic products rose 45.9%. Optical equipment orders also grew 5.8%, supported by demand for optical inspection, measurement equipment, and optical lenses.
Traditional industries continued their recovery in April, with machinery orders up 23.4% year-on-year and plastics and rubber products rising 8.2%. Basic metals gained 4.5% and chemicals edged up 0.5%, supported by semiconductor firms expanding capacity and higher crude oil and metal prices compared with a year earlier.
The US was the largest source of orders at NT$1 trillion, accounting for 37.6% of the total. ASEAN ranked second at NT$563.5 billion, or 20.5%, followed by China and Hong Kong at NT$480.7 billion, or 17.5%.
The overseas production ratio for April orders stood at 48.1%, up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year, driven by increased orders in information and communications products.
