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:
o AI and cloud business demand was solid.
o Export momentum should continue double-digit growth in the first half of the year.
o However, risks from U.S. trade policy and conflict in the Middle East should be closely watched.
o For April, the ministry expects exports to rise between 44% and 51% from a year earlier.
o 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%.
o Exports of electronic components jumped 44.0% to $25.243 billion, while information products soared 134.5%.
o Imports rose 38.3% to $58.91 billion, beating economists' forecasts of an increase of 18.1%.
o 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.
The ministry's website is at http://www.mof.gov.tw
(Reporting by Faith Hung and Emily Chan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Jan Harvey)
