Focus Taiwan
Date: 08/13/2020
By: Flor Wang and Liu Pei-cheng

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's exports to six countries in South Asia in the first seven months of 2020 saw their biggest ever year-on-year fall, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reported on Thursday.

Due to lockdown restrictions and border control measures imposed by governments across the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan's outbound shipments to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan plunged 35.7 percent from the same period last year to US$2.122 billion.

The figures fell to roughly the same as the US$2.143 billion posted in 2004, when data was first recorded, MOF data showed.

From 2004-2010, Taiwan's exports to the six South Asian countries, mainly rubber, chemicals, basic metals and conventional products, rose from around US$2.1 billion per year to US$5 billion per year, peaking at US$6.37 billion in 2011 as a result of economic expansion in some of those countries, the same tallies indicated.    [FULL  STORY]