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Taiwan-mainland Trade Registers Record High in April
Taiwan's trade with China's mainland trade hit a record 2.72 billion US dollars in April, up 42.9 percent year-on-year, the "economic ministry" said, despite tensions between the island and the mainland.
Exports to the mainland in the month totalled 2.16 billion dollars, up 35.5 percent, while imports surged 82.6 percent to 553.9 million dollars, it said in a statement.
The trade surplus enjoyed by the island rose 24.4 percent over a year ago to 1.61 billion dollars.
Both exports and imports - mostly shipped through Hong Kong - had posted double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive month, the "ministry" said.
The record-high trade in April was due to global raw materials price hikes, the recovery of Asia-Pacific economies, and continued economic growth in Europe and the US as well in Taiwan and China's mainland, it said.
China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan over reunification of the motherland after Taiwan's new leader Chen Shui-bian from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party took office on May 20.
Cross-straits commerce in the four months to April rose 28.4 percent from a year earlier to 9.51 billion US dollars, the "ministry" said.
Taiwan posted a trade surplus of 5.72 billion dollars in the four-month period, up 19.4 percent, it said.
Exports to the mainland in the four months totalled 7.61 billion dollars, up 24.8 percent, while imports surged 44.8 percent to 1.90 billion dollars.
Exports of electronics, machinery and plastic products accounted for more than half the shipments to China. Most of the imports were raw industrial materials, machine tools, steel products and consumer goods.
Taiwan has banned direct cross-strait trade since it was separated from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
But indirect commerce started to prosper since Taipei allowed trade with the mainland through third ports in late 1987.
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