China placed much fewer export orders from tech powerhouse Taiwan in July, before Pelosi visit

Taiwan’s July data on exported hi-tech electronics could reflect cracks in the global economic recovery, with consumer demand set for a ‘rebalance’

Sharp export fall seen sparked by weakening demand from Europe, the US and mainland China for Taiwan’s signature consumer electronics

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Analysts say that, after a two-year semiconductor boom, a supply-demand rebalance is at hand. Photo: SCMPOST

Published: 8:00pm, 23 Aug 2022

A rare decline in all export orders placed to Taiwan – a world hub for hi-tech equipment – could signal cracks in the global economy, from China to Europe, according to some economists and analysts.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday that export orders declined by 1.9 per cent to US$54.26 billion in July, year on year, and by 7.8 per cent compared with June.

“It was largely driven by weakening demand in the tech sector, as rising inflation and interest rates hurt global consumers’ disposable incomes and drag their spending on smartphones, PCs and other electronics,” said Ma Tieying, an economist with DBS Bank in Singapore.

Taiwan logged its only other recent export order drop in April – a first since February 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began rattling world economies.

But in July – before a controversial visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – the island’s export fall was sparked by weakening demand from Europe, the United States and mainland China for Taiwan’s signature consumer electronics, analysts said.