Taiwan exports hit record $87.2bn on AI demand

Taiwan's exports reached a record $87.2 billion in September, the government said Thursday, as global demand for artificial intelligence hardware lifted trade.

The finance ministry said exports rose 60.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the 35th straight month of growth. Imports climbed 51.7 percent to a record $63.6 billion, while the trade surplus reached a record $23.6 billion.

Taiwan is a major semiconductor producer and makes more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips used to train and power AI systems. Taiwan is home to TSMC, which turns Nvidia's chip designs into silicon components, and Foxconn, which assembles processors for data centre servers.

Pantheon Macroeconomics Asia economist Meekita Gupta attributed the strong growth to a “resurgence in AI servers”. Gupta said Pantheon's forecast of 34.0 percent growth was too low and said a fall in server-related shipments in September 2025 had created a low base for this year's comparison.

Exports this year have helped drive Taiwan's economic growth. Gross domestic product expanded 12.9 percent in the second quarter, and the stock market has risen about 70 percent since the start of the year.

The finance ministry said changes in global trade policies and geopolitical developments added uncertainty, but said export growth was expected to continue for the rest of the year as AI infrastructure investment, technology product stocking and the year-end purchasing season supported demand.

The United States remained Taiwan's biggest export market in September, with shipments more than doubling to $27.5 billion, the ministry said. Exports to the ASEAN regional bloc reached a record $18.9 billion, up 93.4 percent. The ministry said the United States and ASEAN countries accounted for 70 percent of the total increase in exports.