TAIPEI (TCA) — Accumulated exports from Taiwan’s integrated circuit sector for the first eight months of the year totaled US$76.022 billion, up 21.6 percent from a year ago and a record high for the same period, Focus Taiwan reported citing statistics announced by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
The total value of Taiwan’s exports over the eight month period reached US$217.38 billion, up 1.5 percent from the same period last year, making Taiwan one of only a few economies that retained growth momentum amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.
The increase in overall export value can be attributed to strong growth in exports of electronic components and information and communication products driven by solid demand for emerging 5G technologies and work-from-home devices.
However, this was offset to some degree by a decline in exports of some major export products, according to the ministry.
Among the electronic components with strong exports, the IC circuit sector recorded US$11.285 billion in exports in August, up 20.4 percent from a year ago, and a record single-month high, due mainly to rush shipments to Huawei ahead of new U.S. sanctions against the Chinese tech giant.
In August, IC exports made up 36.2 percent of Taiwan’s total exports.
Over the first eight months, IC exports accounted for 35 percent of Taiwan’s total exports, also a record high, according to the statistics.
Ministry officials said that the strong growth in IC exports and the sector’s contribution to overall exports was due to strong demand for technology products and a steep fall in the export of old-economy products, such as plastics, minerals and machinery products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.