By Wu Chia-jung and Frances Huang
Taipei, Taiwan, (CNA) – Taiwan’s exports bucked a global downtrend in 2020, rising to the 15th highest in the world, up two notches from the previous year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry of finance (MOF).
Citing World Trade Organization statistics, the MOF said Taiwan recorded its best export performance in 16 years in 2020, with its outbound sales growing almost 5 percent from a year earlier to US$345.21, on the back of solid demand for tech gadgets.
Meanwhile, the aggregate global exports fell 7.5 percent to US$17.6 trillion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the MOF said.
Taiwan rose in the worldwide rankings from 17th to 15th, unseating Russia and Spain and accounting for 2 percent of the world’s total exports in 2020, the ministry said.
Among other exporters in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong was in sixth place with exports of US$548.8 billion, South Korea at seventh with exports of US$512.5 billion, and Singapore 14th with US$362.5 billion worth of exports, the MOF said.
China ranked as the top exporters in the world in 2020, taking a 14.7 percent share that totaled US$2.59 trillion, while the United States with exports of US$1.43 trillion, or an 8.1 percent global share, was second, followed by Germany with exports of US$1.38 trillion, or 7.8 percent share of the total, the data showed.
According to the MOF, China benefited from its efforts to develop a global supply chain and has been rolling out more value added products since 2009.
In terms of imports, Taiwan was 18th globally in 2020, buying US$285.8 billion worth of goods that accounted for 1.6 percent of the total worldwide, the data showed.
While Taiwan’s 2020 imports rose slightly by 0.1 percent from a year earlier, its global rankings fell one notch year-on-year, the data indicated.
In 2020, the US was the largest importer in the world, purchasing US$2.408 billion worth of goods, followed by China with US$2,056 billion in imports, and Germany with US$1,171 trillion, according to the MOF.
