Exports hit a record last month as artificial intelligence (AI) demand continued to spread across semiconductors, servers and other high-tech products, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Taiwan’s trade surplus expanded significantly to +USD22.3b in Aug-26; up from +USD16.8b a year earlier to mark its largest monthly surplus since Oct-25. The larger surplus brings the year-to-date net trade to +USD136.9b.
Exports surged +41.0%yoy (Jul-26: +32.9%yoy) to a record high of USD82.4b, lifting total exports for the first eight months of the year to USD574.3b (+44.2%yoy). This export expansion was principally propelled by intense structural global demand for AI hardware and semiconductors, driving steep double-digit gains in parts of electronic products (+58.0%yoy), information, communication, and audio-video items (+41.8%yoy), and base metals (+22.4%yoy). By country demand remained broad-based across major trading partners, led by the US, which accounted for 28.7% of total shipments following a +20.7%yoy surge, alongside strong exports to South Korea (+44.6%yoy), ASEAN (+42.2%yoy), China and Hong Kong (+39.3%yoy), Europe (+34.8%yoy), and Japan (+32.0%yoy).
Concurrently, import shipments jumped +44.3%yoy (Jul-26: +37.4%yoy) to USD 60.1b, pushing year-to-date total imports to USD437.4b (+40.4%yoy), underpinned by substantial intermediate tech hardware imports including ICT products (+108.6%yoy), electronic parts (+62.6%yoy), and mineral inputs (+38.4%yoy). By country of origin, China and Hong Kong maintained their position as Taiwan’s primary source of imports (share: 21.1%; +60.2%yoy), with additional import growth recorded across ASEAN (+77.6%yoy), South Korea (+47.7%yoy), the US (+35.9%yoy), Japan (+24.4%yoy), Europe (+14.3%yoy), and the Middle East (+7.6%yoy). Structurally, these elevated cross-border trade flows underscore Taiwan’s central role in the global AI hardware supply chain, driving robust external sector performance while expanding regional intermediate goods trade across East Asia.
For Malaysia, the sustainably strong regional tech trade directly boost the domestic electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem, particularly in semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging (ATP). MBSB in its note said the strong demand for intermediate inputs from Taiwan and China drives Malaysia’s exports of goods, capital investment, and overall trade balance. Sustained rise in external trade will remain as one of key factors supporting resilient economic growth this year.
