Taiwan’s total export orders in December rose to $43.78bn, up 0.9pc from a year earlier, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The growth was driven by higher demand for electronics and easing trade tensions between the United States and China.
In December, Taiwan’s export orders from the US dropped by 8.8pc from a year earlier, and in November, dropped 4pc. Taiwan’s export orders in Dec 2019 from China rose 5.6pc; from Europe jumped 15.8pc; but those from Japan fell 9.4pc.
December export orders for basic metals and allied products were $2.133bn, down 6.5pc from the same month the prior year, but up 10pc from $1.9bn in November 2019.
In Jan-Dec 2019, export orders for metals and basic products were $25.28bn, down 14.6pc from $29.61bn in Jan-Dec 2018.
December export orders for machinery products was $1.77bn, up 6.1pc from the same month the prior year, and up 5.1pc from $1.68bn in November 2019.
The Jan-Dec 2019 export order book had machineries at $20bn, down 16.7pc from $24bn in Jan-Dec 2018.
Taiwan’s outlook for the first quarter of 2020 on export orders remains better than the first quarter 2019. Several manufacturers have relocated China production lines to Taiwan to avoid higher tariffs as a result of the US-China trade disagreements.