According to the statistics released by the Taiwan Ministry of Finance on December 7, in November Taiwan's total exports stood at a value of $20.02 billion, up by 19.4 percent year on year, while its total imports amounted to $17.9 billion, increasing by 17.9 percent over the same month of last year. The trade balance in October was thus favorable, amounting to US$2.11 billion.
In November this year, Taiwan's iron and steel exports decreased by 4.3 percent to $1.15 billion, while its metal product exports increased by 8.4 percent to $656.8 million, both compared to November 2008.
In the first eleven months of 2009, Taiwan's iron and steel exports came to $11.17 billion, down 34.6 percent, while its metal product exports totaled $6.34 billion, decreasing by 32.9 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2008.
On the other hand, Taiwan's iron and steel imports in November totaled $883.1 million and its metal product imports amounted to $926.3 million. The year-on-year increase rates were 6.5 percent and 31.5 percent respectively.
In the January-November period, Taiwan's iron and steel imports declined by 57.6 percent to $6.71 billion, while its metal product imports totaled $6.81 billion, down 43.5 percent, both compared to the first eleven months of the previous year.