Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to report a year-on-year increase in export orders for the ninth consecutive month in April because of solid global demand for high-tech gadgets, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Saturday.
Export orders likely grew at a double-digit pace in April because of a relatively low base of comparison last year after a more than 12 percent year-on-year increase in March, the ministry told the CNA.
The MOEA will release the April export order data on Monday.
Lin Li-chen, director of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, estimated that the value of Taiwan's export orders in April rose 16.3-19.3 percent from a year earlier to between US$38.5 billion and US$39.5 billion.
The estimated range, however, would still fall below the US$41.12 billion in export orders companies in Taiwan received in March.
The March figure was up 12.3 percent from a year earlier because of sustained solid demand for high-tech products, such as information/communications devices, electronic components and precision equipment.
Export orders for information/communications products, electronic components and precision equipment soared 10.4 percent, 11.9 percent and 39.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier in March, driving export order growth.
Citing a survey of local exporters, the MOEA said orders placed by foreign buyers for both electronic components and precision equipment continued to be strong in April, but orders for information/communications devices slid during the month.
The three product categories accounted for about 60 percent of Taiwan's total export orders in March.
Demand for the three categories of items remains strong at a time of accelerated development of a wide range of new electronic applications, such as the Internet of Things, automotive electronics and clouding computing, the ministry said.
Exporters in Taiwan's old economy sector have also seen healthy growth in recent months, and the trend is expected to continue in April because of the ongoing global recovery in commodity prices, the MOEA said.
The ministry said the second quarter is expected to remain a good period for Taiwan's firms, with export orders likely to grow about 10 percent from a year ago because of the recovering global economy.
In the first quarter, Taiwan's export orders rose 12.60 percent from a year earlier to US$110.85 billion.
