A general view shows containers stacked up at Keelung port in north Taiwan yesterday. Taiwan's exports rose 57.9 percent in May from a year earlier, well above forecasts, driven by strength in economies of the Chinese mainland and the United States, with no impact seen from problems in the eurozone. |
Taiwan's exports to its major destinations including the Chinese mainland, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and South Korea hit 11.19 billion U.S. dollars, 4.06 billion U.S. dollars and 930 million U.S. dollars, respectively -- all new monthly records.
Taiwan's trade surplus totaled 10.71 billion U.S. dollars for the five months ending May, a decrease of 3.22 billion U.S. dollars compared with the same period last year, according to the island's financial authority.
Officials from Taiwan's financial authority said the strong performance in May was due to the rising global demand, especially in Asia.