Taiwan's exports declined 17.1% y/y in February, a sixth successive month of contraction, but a slight improvement on January's 21.2% y/y decline, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Exports declined across most major categories, with falls seen in electronic parts by 17.8%, plastics & rubber by 25.3%, and chemicals by 14.3%. Most major regional exports showed large contractions, including to China which was down 30.1%, although, Japan grew by 1%.

Taiwan’s central bank said in its recent monetary report that sluggish export activity in 2023 caused by the global economic slowdown would dampen GDP growth this year. The central bank is forecasting growth of between 1.58% - 2.91% in 2023, after 2.4% growth last year.