Taiwan's export orders declined for the seventh consecutive month in March, and at a faster pace, according to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday.
Export orders registered a double-digit annual fall of 25.7 percent in March, which was worse than the 18.3 percent fall in February. That was also well above the 20.0 percent decline that economists had expected.
Orders for optical, photographic, cinematographic, and other apparatus plunged the most, by 35.9 percent, while those for plastics, rubber, and related articles slid 34.2 percent. Likewise, foreign orders for chemicals were down the same 34.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, export orders climbed 10.6 percent at the end of the first quarter, data showed.
In New Taiwan dollar terms, export orders decreased 20.2 percent yearly, while they grew 12.0 percent from a month ago.
