According to the statistics released by the
Taiwan Ministry of Finance on November 7, in October
Taiwan's total exports amounted to a value of $19.82 billion, down by 4.7 percent year on year, while its total imports amounted to $16.58 billion, decreasing by 6.7 percent over the same month of last year. The trade balance in October was thus favorable, amounting to US$3.23 billion.
In October this year,
Taiwan's iron and steel exports decreased by 24 percent to $1.18 billion, while metal product exports of the country declined by 17.5 percent to $661.6 million, both compared to October 2008.
In the first ten months of 2009,
Taiwan's iron and steel exports came to $10.02 billion, down 36.9 percent, while its metal product exports totaled $8.85 billion, decreasing by 35.8 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2008.
On the other hand,
Taiwan's iron and steel imports in October totaled $759.2 million and its metal product imports amounted to $713.4 million. The year-on-year decrease rates were 19.7 percent and 21.2 percent respectively.
In the January-October period,
Taiwan's iron and steel imports declined by 61.2 percent to $5.83 billion, while its metal product imports totaled $5.88 million, down 48.2 percent, both compared to the first ten months of the previous year.