Merchandise Trade Balance in Taiwan
The merchandise trade balance in Taiwan averaged USD 49.6 billion in the decade to 2022. The 2022 reading was USD 51.3 billion. For more trade information, visit our dedicated page.
Taiwan Trade Chart
Taiwan Trade Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) | 49.2 | 43.5 | 59.0 | 64.4 | 51.3 |
Merchandise exports grow at a faster pace in January
Merchandise exports jumped 18.1% over the same month last year in January, on the heels of December’s 11.8% upturn. January’s outturn marked the fastest increase since April 2022, and was driven by surging electronics and IT sales. Electronics were likely boosted by the global destocking cycle gradually coming to an end, and IT benefited from rising demand for AI applications. However, the overall export reading was distorted by the Lunar New Year holidays, which fell in January last year vs February this year. Meanwhile, merchandise imports shot up 19.0% in annual terms in January (December: -6.5% yoy), marking the strongest result since July 2022. As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 2.5 billion surplus in January (December 2023: USD 11.1 billion surplus; January 2023: USD 2.3 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 80.7 billion surplus in January, compared to the USD 80.6 billion surplus in December.
Exports in February will be depressed by the Lunar New Year holidays, which will lead to a reduced number of working days compared to February 2023. However, Our Consensus is for exports and imports to both expand in 2024 as a whole, buoyed by a favorable base effect, the exhaustion of the global electronics destocking cycle and burgeoning demand for AI applications.
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Taiwanese trade projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable trade forecast available for Taiwanese trade.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Taiwanese trade projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Taiwanese trade forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Trade News
-
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) dived 20.7% annually in March (February: -0.2% year-on-year). The figure marked the worst decline since August...
-
Indonesia: Merchandise exports drop at a sharper pace in January
Merchandise exports contracted 7.8% on an annual basis in January, following December’s 7.7% drop. Meanwhile, merchandise imports increased 3.0% in... -
Peru: Merchandise exports increase at a softer rate in February
Merchandise exports climbed 1.6% annually in February, on the heels of January’s 9.5% increase. Meanwhile, merchandise imports declined 0.9% over... -
China: Merchandise exports drop in March
Merchandise exports decreased 7.5% year-on-year in March, contrasting February’s 5.6% increase. The outturn marked the sharpest contraction since August 2023... -
Philippines: Merchandise exports accelerate in February
Merchandise exports soared 15.7% annually in February, following January’s 9.1% rise. February’s figure marked the fastest outturn since October 2022.... -
Taiwan: Merchandise exports increase at a faster pace in March
Merchandise exports jumped 18.9% on an annual basis in March (February: +1.3% year-on-year), well above government and market forecasts. March’s... -
Germany: Merchandise exports drop in February
Merchandise exports decreased 2.0% in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms in February (January: +6.3% mom s.a.). Meanwhile, merchandise imports rose 3.2%...