Breaking 90 billion US dollars for the first time! Exports soared to US$96.76 billion in October, continuing to hit a record high

The Ministry of Finance announced today that exports in October were US$96.76 billion, continuing to hit a record high in a single month. (Photo by reporter Zheng Qifang)

[Reporter Zheng Qifang/Taipei Report] Exports continue to soar! The Ministry of Finance announced today that exports in October soared past the US$90 billion mark for the first time, reaching US$96.76 billion, continuing to hit a new monthly high, with a monthly increase of 10.9% and an annual increase of 58.9%, the third largest increase in history. 36 months of growth, continuing to set the longest growth cycle in history; cumulative exports from January to October were US$758.29 billion, an annual increase of 47.7%, breaking through the US$700 billion mark in one fell swoop, continuing to set new highs for the entire year.

Imports in October were US$68.89 billion, also a record high in a single month, with a monthly increase of 8.3% and an annual increase of 75.1%; the cumulative imports from January to October were US$569.76 billion, an annual increase of 44.6%. Exports and imports were balanced, with exports exceeding US$27.88 billion in October, a record high for a single month, and an annual increase of US$6.33 billion; cumulative exports from January to October exceeded US$188.54 billion, an annual increase of US$68.97 billion, of which exports to the United States were as high as US$190.962 billion.

The Ministry of Finance stated that with the strong growth of global AI infrastructure investment, the demand for related supply chains has increased, and the prices of export products have increased. Exports exceeded US$90 billion for the first time in October; imports were also the highest in a single month in history, with an annual increase of 75.1%. This was mainly due to the increase in the international division of labor in the AI ​​industry and export-induced demand, as well as the rise in international raw material prices; exports exceeding US$27.88 billion also hit a new high.

Among the major commodities, the export value of information communications, audio-visual products, and electronic components hit a new single-month high in October, with annual increases of 72.9% and 61.4%, mainly due to the booming business opportunities in applications such as AI, high-performance computing, and cloud services; the export value of other goods The average increase was 25.7%, of which mineral products increased by 71.6% due to the support of oil prices. Machinery and electrical products benefited from the expansion of production capacity by semiconductor companies and the spillover of AI demand, with an increase of 30%. Basic metals and their products also increased by 35.7%. From January to October, information and communication products, audio-visual products, and electronic components together accounted for about 80% of total exports, with an annual increase of 60.6%.

In addition, exports to major markets in October increased by more than 40% year-on-year, with the 83.8% increase to ASEAN being the most prominent. The scale of exports to the United States, Japan, and Europe all reached new single-month highs, with increases of 55.9%, 49.6%, and 46% respectively, and exports to China and Hong Kong increased by 42.9%. The cumulative growth rate of exports to the five major markets from January to October ranged from 28% to 59%, of which exports to the United States increased by 58.8% year-on-year and exports to ASEAN increased by 56.1%, accounting for 31.7% and 20.1% of total exports respectively, setting new highs for the same period in the past 36 years and the same period in previous years respectively.

Looking to the future, the Ministry of Finance stated that the global economy still faces uncertainties such as geopolitical conflicts and the direction of U.S. trade policy. However, as AI applications gradually spread to inference and agent AI, and international cloud service providers continue to build AI infrastructure, driving the continued demand for semiconductors, servers and other related supply chains, coupled with the successive launch of new technological products and the arrival of the peak consumption season at the end of the year, exports are expected to maintain strong growth in the fourth quarter.