Taiwan exports down for 13th month in February

Taiwan's exports dropped 11.8 percent year on year in February, down for the 13th month in a row, partly due to flagging global demand and falling oil prices, the local finance authority said in a statement Monday.

Export volume stood at 17.78 billion U.S. dollars last month, compared with 13.63 billion U.S. dollars for import, which dropped 13.1 percent from a year ago, the statement said.

The export decline period is nearing the record of 14 consecutive months, which was seen after the 2008 financial crisis. The authority said it is possible this low period could break the record.

The plunge is attributed to flagging world demand and falling prices of crude oil and steel products, as well as fewer working days last month due to the Chinese New Year holiday and an earthquake in southern Taiwan.

In the first two months, exports dropped 12.4 percent to 39.98 billion U.S. dollars, while imports dropped 12.2 percent to 32.31 billion U.S. dollars.

Exports to the Chinese mainland, the largest export destination for the island, dropped 17.4 percent in the first two months to 9.7 billion U.S. dollars, representing 24.3 percent of the total.

Unclear global economic prospects and fierce competition would continue to weigh on exports, but they could stabilize after the second quarter due to a relatively low comparison base, the statement said. Endi