Export orders received by Taiwan hit 11-month high of US$30.8B in September.

Taipei, Oct. 29, 2009 (CENS)--The export orders received by Taiwan's manufacturers and traders hit an 11-month high of US$30.837 billion in September, which, however, still declined by 3% from the corresponding figure of last year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Huang Chi-shih, director of the Statistics Department of MOEA, indicated the top three categories of products ordered in September were electronic products, information technology (IT) & communication products, and precision instruments & devices.

Thanks to strong market demand for consumer electronics, export orders for electronic products came to US$7.716 billion in September, edging down by 0.25% from that of the previous year, the slightest fall of its kind in 11 months. In the same month, orders for IT & communication products posted an annual rise of 2.41% to US$7.695 billion due to the growing demand for notebook computers, desktop computers, cell phones and Internet items. As for precision instruments and devices, the orders witnessed a double-digit growth of 11.84% to US$3.061 billion.

However, the orders received by the machinery industry tumbled by 17.36% to US$952 million, for the lowest drop of its kind in 11 months. Insiders believed that the export value of the industry might chalk up in the fourth quarter and turn positive growth in the coming year.

In September the industrial production index stood at 108.39 for an annual growth of 1.01%, the first positive growth since September of 2008. In the same month the manufacturing production index remained stable and might keep an upward trend in October, Huang noted.