Taiwan's industrial production logged its worst contraction in more than thirteen-and-a-half years, largely led by a sharp contraction in manufacturing, and mining and quarrying output, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Friday.
Separate official data showed that retail sales growth eased sharply at the start of the year.
Industrial production plunged 20.50 percent year-on-year in January, much faster than the revised 8.0 percent fall in December.
Further, this was the steepest decline since May 2009, when production showed a negative growth of 20.60. In April 2009, the fall was more severe, at 26.59 percent.
Among the main sectors, manufacturing output declined the most, by 21.38 percent annually in January, followed by mining and quarrying production with a 17.61 percent slump.
Output produced in the electricity and gas supply segments was 6.95 percent lower compared to last year.
On a month-on-month basis, industrial production slid a seasonally adjusted 3.84 percent from December, when it declined by 0.77 percent.
Another report from the statistical office showed that retail sales advanced 4.2 percent annually in January, following a 9.4 percent surge in the prior month.
A 7.64 percent fall in sales of food, beverages, and tobacco in specialized stores had a large impact on the current easing trend of retail sales at the beginning of 2023.
