The Japan Times - Taiwan says exports hit record in September on AI demand

The island is a powerhouse in the semiconductor sector, producing more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips used to train and power AI systems.

The 60.9 percent year-on-year increase in exports was the 35th straight month of growth, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Imports for September soared 51.7 percent to $63.6 billion and the trade surplus reached $23.6 billion -- both also record highs, the ministry said.

Surging exports this year have fuelled the island's blistering economic growth, with gross domestic product expanding 12.9 percent in the second quarter.

The stock market has also soared around 70 percent since the start of the year.

Pantheon Macroeconomics Asia economist Meekita Gupta attributed the surprisingly strong growth to a "resurgence in AI servers".

"Our forecast was far too low, at 34.0 percent," Gupta said in a note.

"What we think both we and the consensus missed was the sharp fall in server-related shipments in September 2025, which created a low base and amplified this year's headline growth."

Taiwan is home to hardware production giants TSMC, which turns Nvidia's cutting-edge designs into silicon components, and Foxconn, which assembles the processors to make data centre servers.

While changes in global trade policies and geopolitical developments added "uncertainty" to the economy, the finance ministry said Taiwan's export growth trajectory is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

"As AI applications continue to deepen, international cloud service providers and various countries are accelerating investment in AI infrastructure, boosting demand across related supply chains such as semiconductors and servers," the statement said.

"In addition, stocking for new technology products and the approach of the year‑end peak purchasing season in China and in Europe and the United States will all help support Taiwan's export momentum."

The United States remained Taiwan's biggest export market in September, with overseas shipments more than doubling to $27.5 billion, the second highest value on record.

Exports to the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN hit a record $18.9 billion, up 93.4 percent.

The United States and ASEAN member countries contributed "70 percent of the total increase in exports", the ministry said.

K.Yamaguchi--JT