Export orders shrink for 10th month in all major categoriesBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterExport orders last month shrank 24.9 percent from a year earlier to US$44.18 billion, as demand in all major product categories from all major trading destinations declined by double-digit percentages, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. It was the 10th consecutive month of contraction in the critical economic bellwether, boding ill for customs-cleared exports in the next one to three months. Export orders from the eurozone registered the steepest retreat of 44.2 percent, followed by a 23.6 percent plunge in US orders, the ministry found. Export orders from China and Hong Kong shed 19.7 percent year-on-year last month, as the economic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy turned out to be slower than expected, the ministry said. In the second quarter, export orders decreased 20.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said, adding that the annual decline reached 20.8 percent in the first six months of the year.
