Merchandise trade surplus widens in May

Latest reading: In May, the trade balance was USD +17.9 billion, following a USD +14.4 billion reading in the previous month. Over the last 12 months, the trade balance summed to USD +198.0 billion. Merchandise exports were up 51.7% in annual terms in May, following 39.0% growth in the previous month. Merchandise imports rose 54.9% in year-on-year terms in May, coming on the back of a 29.2% increase in the previous month. Both readings beat market expectations, linked to higher prices and volumes of trade in IT-related products. Imports were further inflated by higher energy costs.

Panelist insight: On the latest data, ING’s Lynn Song said: “Unsurprisingly, Taiwan's exports continue to be led by its major tech exports. The broader Machinery and Electrical Equipment category, which represents 84.5% of Taiwan's total exports, grew 62.7% YoY in May. Taiwan's semiconductor exports hit a four-month high of 58.3% YoY while computer and accessory exports saw 97.8% YoY growth in May. By export destination, Taiwan's exports saw a huge surge to Singapore, up 247.5% YoY in May. Singapore's proportion of Taiwan's total exports has risen from 6.7% in 2025 to 9.7% in 2026. This is likely focused in AI-driven semiconductor demand.”

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Taiwanese merchandise exports projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable merchandise exports forecast available for Taiwanese merchandise exports.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Taiwanese merchandise exports projections.

Want to get access to the full dataset of Taiwanese merchandise exports forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.