[The Epoch Times, March 8, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Hou Junlin reported in Taipei, Taiwan) Due to the positive development of the global economy, innovative applications and continued digital business opportunities, the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Finance announced on the 8th that exports in February reached US$37.45 billion, February was the strongest month in the past year, coupled with the factor of low comparison base period, the annual growth rate was as high as 34.8%, which has been growing for 20 consecutive months; mainly due to the deferred shipment injection, and the rapid rise of raw material prices with oil prices, all pushed This is due to the client’s stocking demand.
Cai Meina, director of the statistics department of the Ministry of Finance, said that exports in February reached US$37.45 billion, an annual increase of 34.8%, setting a record for the same month over the years. This stellar export performance can be attributed to five key factors, including the recovery of the global economy, rising raw material prices to boost stocking capacity, emerging technology application opportunities to increase chip demand, the effect of delayed shipments of long and short materials, and export product prices due to increased support.
A closer look at the main export goods in February, Cai Meina said, except for optical equipment, which continued to decline due to the intensified competition for lenses and TV panels, which continued to fall in the off-season of the market, the rest of the annual growth exceeded 20%, of which electronic components contributed the most, with an export value of 15.73 billion US dollars. , an annual increase of 46.5%, has been growing for 34 consecutive months, the second longest rising cycle in history. Double-digit growth in electronic components is also up to 25 months, which is unprecedented, she said.
As for the export market, Tsai Mina pointed out that in February, exports to major markets saw double-digit growth across the board and their scale reached a new high in the same month. The largest growth rate since September 2010 shows that the export to the United States is still strong; Mainland China and Hong Kong have a strong demand for chips, and their export is 15.76 billion US dollars, an annual increase of 39.9%, for the past 13 months. high point since.
In addition, the situation in Russia and Ukraine has attracted much attention from the outside world. Cai Mina further analyzed that the proportion of Taiwan’s exports to Russia was only 0.3%, and the cumulative annual increase in exports from January to February reached 18.8%, and did not see much change; in terms of imports, the proportion of It is also only about 1.4%. The main imports include coal, oil, natural gas and other energy sources. At present, the contract between CNPC and Russia has expired, and other sources of goods have been found, and the overall impact is not high.
She said that the exchanges between the two countries are limited, and the direct impact will not be too high. According to the survey by the Chinese Academy of Economics, the manufacturing inventory, especially the special gases needed by semiconductors, such as hai, neon and other gases, the inventory is still maintained at a stable level for 6-9 months , but currently affected by the war, they are all detoured by air.
Looking forward to the future, Cai Meina said that the impact of the new crown epidemic on global economic activities has gradually slowed down, and countries are gradually moving towards the direction of unblocking. In response to the huge demand for chips used in technological innovation, domestic semiconductor companies are also actively investing in expanding production capacity, which will benefit Taiwan’s exports. kinetic energy.
She believes that the export value in February this year was 37.45 billion US dollars, which was much higher than the original estimate of 32 billion US dollars and exceeded expectations. During the period, there is a chance to break through the high point of 41.57 billion US dollars in November and make a new high.
It is worth noting that the current focus is on the rising prices of crude oil, media, iron ore, industrial metals and other raw materials, which will continue to increase international inflationary pressure. The sanctions imposed by many countries will have an impact on the global economy. We should continue to pay attention in the future. The development of the Russian-Ukrainian war; if the time is prolonged, the public’s sense of anxiety will rise, which will make the terminal consumption tend to be conservative, further suppressing the growth of the global economy.
Responsible editor: Tang Yin