TAIPEI: Export orders for last month remained haunted by weakening demand for mobile devices from emerging markets, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Saturday, without saying whether the figure would decline from a year earlier.
In April, export orders fell 4 percent from a year earlier, the first year-on-year drop since July 2013, as demand from emerging markets for handheld devices slowed.
A decline in orders for precision instruments and cellphone screens also affected the April figure.
Export orders for April totaled US$37.32 billion, down US$1.55 billion, or 4 percent, from a year earlier. The April figure was also down 2.9 percent from the previous month.
Economists are waiting in anticipation for last month’s export order data, set to be released today, after the government cut its forecast for this year’s economic growth to 3.28 percent late last month, from its previous estimate of 3.78 percent, citing slowing global demand.
The ministry said that with international brands pushing to unveil new smartphones and wearable devices to boost market share, demand for budget handheld products in emerging markets shrank further last month, hurting Taiwanese export orders.
The old-economy sector has also felt the pinch of a weakening global economy, and weakness in crude oil and steel prices is expected to affect the sector’s export orders last month, the ministry said.
In a survey conducted by the ministry, 20.3 percent of Taiwanese exporters surveyed said their orders last month rose from April, while 20.6 percent said orders fell from a month earlier.
The remaining 59.1 percent said that orders last month were little changed from April.
