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Taiwan March exports -19.1% y/y vs -15.4% poll forecast
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Exports to China -28.5 y/y (previous month -30.2%)
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Finance ministry expects April exports -18% to -20% y/y
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Ministry says export outlook under pressure
TAIPEI, April 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports contracted annually for the seventh month in a row in March, in a trend expected to continue until the fourth quarter, as worldwide demand stays soft, including that from China, the island's biggest export market. Exports last month were down 19.1% by value from a year earlier at $35.2 billion, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. The data worsened from a 17.1% annual drop seen in February, and lagged a Reuters poll forecast for a 15.4% contraction. The ministry cited the global economic slowdown, weak demand, continuous inventory adjustments by manufacturers and a a high comparison base period from the previous year for the contraction.
Export growth is not expected to resume until the last quarter of the year, it added.
Taiwan's total shipments of electronics components in March fell 14.6% from a year before to $15.57 billion, with semiconductor exports down 13.4%, it said. Firms such as TSMC , , the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple Inc and other global tech giants, as well as providers of chips to auto companies and lower-end consumer goods. TSMC reported on Monday that its March sales had slipped 15.4% from a year before. At $12.9 billion in March, Taiwan's exports to China were down 28.5%, after showing an annual drop of 30.2% in the previous month. The finance ministry said global inflation and tightening of monetary policy in major economies would keep weighing on external demand, coupled with risks such as the war in Ukraine and China-U.S. trade tension. "Exports in the first half are still under pressure," said the ministry, predicting that April exports could drop 18% to 20% from a year earlier. March exports to the United States fell 20.7%, after falling an annual 13.7% in the prior month. Taiwan's March imports, often seen as a leading indicator of re-exports of finished products, fell 20.1% to $30.98 billion. That compared with economists' forecast of a 12.3% decline and a 9.4% fall in February. (Reporting by Faith Hung and Loh Liang-sa; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Clarence Fernandez)
