STRONG ORDERS: The timing of the Lunar New Year has generated rosy sales of food, beverages, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and household appliances

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 24, 2020
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

Sales generated by the nation’s wholesale sector increased 4.8 percent on an annual basis last month to NT$883.2 billion (US$29.41 billion), ending four consecutive months of annual declines, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ statistics department said on Wednesday.

The sector has mainly the machinery equipment industry to thank for its recovery, as it posted a 6.5 percent year-on-year increase in sales last month to NT$330.4 billion, contributing around 37.41 percent of the sector’s overall revenue.

“Companies have reported strong orders of mobile phones and other network communication devices for last month,” Department of Statistics Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a press conference on Wednesday in Taipei, adding that domestic investments from the semiconductor sector have also been partly responsible for the industry’s growth.

As the Lunar New Year falls on an earlier date this year, the food, beverage and tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, and the household appliances industry all witnessed rosy sales last month, increasing 7.7 percent, 10.6 percent and 8.9 percent year-on-year respectively, the ministry’s data showed.    [FULL  STORY]