Taiwan’s Exports Hit a Record 87.2 Billion Dollars in September as US Sales More Than Double
Taiwan’s exports rose 60.9 percent from a year earlier to a record 87.22 billion dollars in September, the Ministry of Finance said on 8 October, as shipments to the United States more than doubled. Imports also reached a monthly record, 63.59 billion dollars, up 51.7 percent, and the trade surplus of 23.63 billion dollars was the largest for any month.
Technology products carry the month
The ministry attributed the growth to demand from artificial intelligence, high performance computing and cloud services, the start of the traditional peak season for exports and higher product prices. Exports of information, communication and audio-video products rose 103.0 percent to 39.13 billion dollars, and electronic components rose 45.3 percent to 31.13 billion dollars. On our calculation, the 2 categories made up 80.6 percent of September’s exports, against the 79.0 percent the ministry reported for the first 9 months.
Exports rose 5.9 percent from August and have now grown for 35 consecutive months, breaking the previous record of 34 months between November 1985 and August 1988, the ministry said, according to the Central News Agency. Measured in New Taiwan dollars, exports were up 68.2 percent, 7.3 points more than in dollar terms on our calculation.
The United States leads Taiwan’s export markets
Exports to the United States rose 106.2 percent to 27.46 billion dollars, 31.5 percent of the total, while shipments to mainland China and Hong Kong rose 30.2 percent to 20.62 billion dollars. On our calculation, the United States took 6.84 billion dollars more of Taiwan’s goods than mainland China and Hong Kong in September, and 47.69 billion dollars more over the first 9 months. Sales to ASEAN rose 93.4 percent to a monthly record of 18.88 billion dollars.
Taiwan’s exports by destination, September 2026
| Destination | Value, $ million | Annual change | Share of exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 27,461 | 106.2% | 31.5% |
| Mainland China and Hong Kong | 20,622 | 30.2% | 23.6% |
| ASEAN | 18,881 | 93.4% | 21.6% |
| Europe | 4,533 | 20.6% | 5.2% |
| South Korea | 3,612 | 51.6% | 4.1% |
| Japan | 3,073 | 13.4% | 3.5% |
Ranked by value. Changes are against September 2025, when exports totalled 54.22 billion dollars.
On the import side, agricultural and industrial raw materials rose 59.3 percent to 44.05 billion dollars, or 69.3 percent of the total on our calculation, and imports of semiconductor equipment rose 34.9 percent to 4.78 billion dollars. Over the first 9 months, exports reached 661.55 billion dollars, up 46.2 percent, and the surplus 160.55 billion dollars, up 63.8 percent. On our calculation, exports in the first 9 months already exceed the 639.96 billion dollars shipped in the whole of 2025, and the United States and ASEAN together accounted for 70.5 percent of September’s increase.
Why it matters: Taiwan’s export growth is now concentrated in the hardware behind artificial intelligence, and that has shifted its trade towards the United States, which took 31.5 percent of September’s exports, on our reading. The ministry linked the rise in imports to export-driven demand along the artificial intelligence supply chain and to high international raw material prices.
Outlook: The ministry expects exports to keep growing in the fourth quarter, citing investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, stocking of new technology products and year-end demand, while noting uncertainty over trade policy. Beatrice Tsai, director-general of the ministry’s statistics department, forecast October exports of 85.2 billion to 87.7 billion dollars, up 40 to 44 percent from a year earlier, the Central News Agency reported. October figures are due on 9 November at 08:00 GMT.
Sources: Ministry of Finance (Taiwan), Central News Agency, The Edge.
