✦
Taiwan's exports surged 58.9 percent year on year in October 2026 to a record 96.76 billion dollars, official data showed on 9 November, driven by booming global demand for artificial intelligence chips, servers and advanced computing technology. October was the first month in which the island's outbound shipments topped 90 billion dollars, clearing September's record of 87.22 billion dollars by about 11 percent.
Exports have now grown year on year for 36 months in a row, the longest such run in Taiwan's records. The Ministry of Finance said demand for semiconductors and servers should remain strong in the fourth quarter. It attributed the surge to strong global investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, expanding cloud services and rising technology product prices.
Information, communications and audiovisual products, the category that includes artificial intelligence servers, rose 72.9 percent to a record 47.60 billion dollars. Electronic components rose 61.4 percent to a record 32.68 billion dollars, with integrated circuit exports rising 63.0 percent to 31.17 billion dollars. Together, the two categories made up 83 percent of October's exports. Machinery exports rose 35.5 percent to 2.88 billion dollars, driven by semiconductor production equipment.
The United States stayed Taiwan's largest market, taking 34 percent of shipments, with exports there up 55.9 percent to a record 32.93 billion dollars. The United States accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan's exports in the first ten months of 2026, its highest share in 36 years. Exports for the first ten months reached 758.29 billion dollars, up 47.7 percent on the same period last year, while imports increased 44.6 percent to 569.76 billion dollars.
The Ministry of Finance forecast November exports of 94.2 billion to 96.7 billion dollars, up 47 to 51 percent year on year, and said exports for the full year will pass 900 billion dollars. The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research raised its 2026 GDP growth forecast to 12.34 percent, from 10.38 percent in July, and expects growth to slow to 6.45 percent in 2027.
Source: Focus Taiwan
