Taiwan’s blistering export growth continues in 2026
Taiwan's exports surged by 69.9% year-on-year in January, supported in part by the Lunar New Year effect but still primarily bolstered by the ongoing tech boom
| 69.9% YoY |
Taiwan's January export growth |
| Higher than expected | |
Taiwan's trade growth reaches the highest level since 2010
Taiwan’s export momentum continues to impress.
January exports surged by 69.9% YoY, accelerating from 43.4% YoY in December, and coming in stronger than market expectations yet again. The growth is likely slightly bolstered by the typical Lunar New Year effect, as the Lunar New Year fell in January last year but is in February this year. It is the fastest year-on-year growth of any month since January 2010.
By export destination, exports to the US surged by 151.8% YoY, and accounted for a whopping 32.4% of Taiwan's total exports in January, surpassing Mainland China and Hong Kong (24.4%). For the full year of 2025, Mainland China and Hong Kong remained the largest export destinations, accounting for 27.7% of total exports, compared with 21.8% to the US. It will be interesting to see if this trajectory holds for 2026. Exports to Mainland China and Hong Kong nonetheless saw an impressive 49.6% YoY growth as well in January. Taiwan's exports to Europe were also very strong at the start of the year, up 106.0% YoY, while exports to ASEAN grew a little slower than the headline growth at 61.8% YoY.
Surge of exports has led to the US starting the year off as Taiwan's largest export destination
By export product, the same trends from 2025 carry over into 2026 despite a more challenging base effect. Machinery and electrical equipment, far and away Taiwan's largest export category, surged by 86.2% YoY in the year to date. Within this category, semiconductor exports rose 61.3% YoY, and Information, Communication and Audio-video Products rose 43.7% YoY.
Imports also had a similarly strong start to the year, up 63.6% YoY, well eclipsing market expectations. While machinery and electrical equipment imports (97.2%) unsurprisingly continued to be the strongest category for imports tied to the supply chains, the general import picture saw improvements as well, with minerals (14.9%), chemicals (32.0%), plastics (33.3%), and vehicle (54.4%) imports all registering solid growth at the start of the year.
In net, Taiwan's net exports also slightly beat market forecasts with a US$18.9bn start to the year, a sign that Taiwan's growth is set to continue where it left off in early 2026.
This publication has been prepared by ING solely for information purposes irrespective of a particular user's means, financial situation or investment objectives. The information does not constitute investment recommendation, and nor is it investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Read more
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