Taiwan witnesses first trade deficit in four years

In June, the Taiwan region witnessed its first monthly trade deficit since four years ago, which was valued at 200 million US dollars, according to sources with the Taiwan authorities.

In June, the export volume of Taiwan stood at 14.44 billion US dollars, up 24.5 percent from the previous month, while its import volume reached 14.64 billion US dollars, growing 42.2 percent.

Due to rocketing prices of crude oil in the international market and the purchase of three civil aircraft, Taiwan's import volume in June was a record high since November 2003, local media reported.

Statistics from the first half of 2004 showed Taiwan's total export volume stood at 83.96 billion US dollars, up 25.7 percent year on year, while import volume reached 80.05 billion US dollars, up 35.6 percent year on year. The six-month trade surplus was 3.91 billion US dollars.