TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s exports reached NT$2.48 trillion (US$78.48 billion) in May, the second-highest total on record, the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday.
The figure represented a 51.7% year-on-year growth, while imports rose 54.9% year-on-year to a record NT$1.96 trillion, per CNA. Cumulative exports in the first five months of the year totaled NT$10.81 trillion, up 48.7% from a year earlier.
MOF Department of Statistics Director Tsai Mei-na (蔡美娜) said demand tied to AI applications, including agentic AI and AI infrastructure, continues to drive export growth, per MoneyDJ. Taiwan’s strengths in advanced chips, AI servers, and manufacturing capacity expansion have also benefited companies.
Tsai said quarterly exports are expected to exceed NT$6.32 trillion in Q2 and remain above that level through the end of the year. First-half exports are also on course to post their strongest growth rate in nearly 16 years.
The ministry further expects Taiwan to break its record for consecutive months of export expansion. May marked the 31st straight month of year-on-year growth, putting the current record of 34 months within reach in August and setting up a potential new high of 35 consecutive months in September.
Looking ahead, the ministry forecast June exports of between NT$2.4 trillion and NT$2.39 trillion, representing annual growth of 42% to 49%. Full-year exports are projected to rise 39.8%, which would mark the strongest annual increase in nearly 50 years and push export value to a record high.
