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Taiwan pins hope on iPhone bounce as exports plunge

Xinhua, September 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

After its seventh month of export declines, Taiwan is hoping the release of the next iPhone model, and the electronics orders it may generate, can boost Taiwan shipments.

Taiwan's exports dropped 14.8 percent year-on-year to 23.93 billion U.S. dollars in August, the third consecutive month of double-digit decline, the sharpest contraction since the end of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, according to a monthly report by the island's financial agency released on Monday.

Imports also posted negative growth for the ninth-consecutive month in August, with a 16.7 percent decline to 19.97 billion U.S. dollars, creating a trade surplus of 3.96 billion, a 150 million year-on-year decrease.

A global economic slowdown, and slumping oil and industrial raw material prices are blamed for the plummet, which affected all of Taiwan's trade partners. Sales in almost all product categories fell year-on-year last month.

Accounting for more than 30 percent of Taiwan's total exports, shipments of electronics registered a decline of 11.4 percent to 8.18 billion U.S. dollars in August.

An official with the statistics department said the much-anticipated inventory building that usually comes alongside the launch of new iPhone models has yet to materialize. Th new model will be announced Wednesday.

Taiwan's export orders hit a record high in 2014 thanks to robust demand for the Apple iPhone 6, benefiting Taiwanese microchip makers and other suppliers.

The upcoming shopping seasons in the fourth quarter across Europe and the United States is expected to breathe live into the flagging electronics sector.

Taiwan's board of trade also expressed confidence in future exports based on measures rolled out by the Chinese mainland, Taiwan's largest export market, which will streamline the export tax rebate process and cut more costs for Taiwanese trading firms. Endi