Taiwan: Merchandise exports gain steam in July
Latest reading: Merchandise exports soared 42.0% annually in July, following June’s 33.7% upturn and well above market expectations. The outturn marked the most robust increase since May 2010 and was driven by higher sales of IT and electronics goods. Meanwhile, merchandise imports shot up 20.8% on an annual basis in July (June: +17.3% yoy).
As a result, the merchandise trade balance improved from the previous month, recording a USD 14.3 billion surplus in July (June 2025: USD 12.1 billion surplus; July 2024: USD 4.9 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 109.7 billion surplus in July, compared to the USD 100.2 billion surplus in June.
Panelist insight: On the outlook, Nomura analysts said:
“By destination, export growth to the US remained strong at 62.8% y-o-y, led by ICT products (proxy of AI demand) and machinery. Notably, exports to supply chain nodes such as ASEAN-6 and Mexico surged by 72% y-o-y and 206.2% y-o-y […]. Although we expect export growth to moderate in coming months due to some payback from frontloading demand in Q2, July’s stronger export data increase upside risk to our near-term growth outlook.”