According to the statistics released by the Taiwan Ministry of Finance on May 7, in April this year, Taiwan's iron and steel exports rose by 44 percent to $1.28 billion, while its metal product exports, excluding machinery, soared by 39.5 percent to $779.7 million, both compared to April 2009.
Meanwhile, in the January-April period, the country's iron and steel exports were up 32.9 percent, totaling $4.98 billion, while its metal product exports, excluding machinery, stood at $2.93 billion, climbing by 47.4 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
On the other hand, Taiwan's iron and steel imports in April totaled $1.01 billion and its metal product imports amounted to $884 million. The year-on-year increase rates were 145.8 percent and 94.6 percent respectively.
In the first four months of this year, Taiwan's iron and steel imports came to $3.68 billion, up 105.4 percent, while its metal product imports, excluding machinery, rose 135.5 percent to $3.51 billion, both compared to the January-April period of 2009.