December 04, 2009
Taipei, Nov. 3, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan will likely see a record trade surplus of US$29.9 billion in 2009 and the figure for 2010 is very likely to remain the same, according to the Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS).
With Taiwan`s doors open to mainland Chinese tourists, there has been an obvious rise in incoming tourists since the second half of the year, which has been seen to help revitalize Taiwan`s tourism. So if including the extra service charges generated by such increased tourist traffic, then Taiwan`s trade surplus this year may rise to US$33.2 billion, with further increases next year.
Director general of DGBAS S.M. Shih indicated that Taiwan`s annual trade surplus has been US$10-20 billion since 2003, which will however hit a record high of US$33.2 billion this year. Shih attributed the projected rising trade surplus to increasing trade with China.
Taiwan`s imports this year are expected to see a negative growth of 27.74%. As for next year, exports are forecast to rise 15.36%, with imports also to grow positively by 18.06%.
With recovering external trade, DGBAS predicted that Taiwan`s economic growth may remain at a modest 4.39% for 2010, with the absolute value in customs export at US$234.9 billion for the year, which will still be lower than 2007`s US$246.7 billion and 2008`s US$255.6 billion.
(by Judy Li)
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