TAIPEI: Taiwan’s exports fell 13 percent year-on-year to US$22.2 billion in January, declining for the 12th straight month, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance. The January figures represented an eighth consecutive monthly double-digit drop in Taiwan’s exports, the worst since the 2008 financial crisis.
Imports for the month, meanwhile, fell 11.7 percent from a year earlier to US$18.69 billion. As a result, the trade surplus for the month was US$3.51 billion. The Ministry of Finance attributed the plummet in exports to weak global demand that continued to reduce the value of overseas shipments.