Taiwan’s economy collapsed due to electronics crisis

The electronics crisis continues to overshadow Taiwan’s economy, causing Taiwan’s exports to fall more than expected last March, a new deterioration in its economy.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance said exports fell by 19.1% in March year-on-year compared to 17.1% in February, while at the same time registering a larger decline than the average estimate of economic analysts in a Bloomberg survey of 15.4%.

Taiwan’s imports fell 20.1% in March, a sharper decline compared with an average estimate of 11.4%. The trade surplus reached $4.2 billion.

Thus, exports have declined for seven consecutive months, with rising interest rates, rising inflation and the ongoing banking crisis affecting consumers’ sentiment.
While the decline during February and March was partially better compared to January’s violent decline of 21.2%, trade is likely to continue to weigh on the economy for some time.

Data also showed Taiwan’s consumer price index rose 2.35% in March year-on-year, higher than the middle estimate of 2.2%.