Export orders surge 60% year-on-year, data showBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterExport orders in January expanded 60.1 percent year-on-year to US$76.9 billion, the 12th straight month of double-digit percentage growth and the highest for a single month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. January’s growth was mainly driven by strong momentum in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, with strong orders for servers and other high-tech products, Huang said. Export orders for last month are estimated to rise 9 to 12.9 percent year-on-year to between US$56.3 billion and US$58.3 billion, Huang said. In January, export orders rose 78.6 percent year-on-year for electronic components, surged 102 percent for ICT products, increased 40.6 percent for machinery products and climbed 18.6 percent for optoelectronic products, ministry data showed. Orders also rose across traditional industries in January, increasing 13.9 percent year-on-year for plastic and rubber products, 8.8 percent for base metals and 10.4 percent for chemical products, ministry data showed.
