TAIPEI, April 10 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports rose much more than expected in March, with demand remaining strong for artificial intelligence applications and other technology products.
Exports grew 61.8% year-on-year to $80.18 billion, the first time they have surpassed $80 billion, the finance ministry said on Friday. That compared to 20.6% in February and expectations for 33.2% in a Reuters poll, and continued a streak of 29 consecutive monthly year-on-year gains.
Here are some details on the data from the ministry's statement and context to the data:
• AI and cloud business demand was solid.
• Export momentum should continue double-digit growth in the first half of the year.
• However, risks from U.S. trade policy and conflict in the Middle East should be closely watched.
• For April, the ministry expects exports to rise between 44% and 51% from a year earlier.
• In March, Taiwan's exports to the U.S. surged 124% from a year earlier to $28.542 billion, while exports to China climbed 27.4%.
• Exports of electronic components jumped 44.0% to $25.243 billion, while information products soared 134.5%.
• Imports rose 38.3% to $58.91 billion, beating economists' forecasts of an increase of 18.1%.
• Taiwanese companies such as TSMC, , the world's largest maker of advanced chips used to power AI applications, are major suppliers to Nvidia, Apple and other leading tech companies.
Reporting by Faith Hung and Emily Chan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Jan Harvey
Source: Reuters