TAIPEI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sales generated by the wholesale sector in Taiwan shrank 2.1 percent year on year to 880.7 billion new Taiwan dollars (28.8 billion U.S. dollars) last month, according to the latest data from the island's economic affairs authority.
The machinery equipment industry, the biggest contributor to the island's wholesale sector, declined 4.4 percent to 374.1 billion new Taiwan dollars in wholesale last month, mainly due to weakening demands and dropping prices for storage and related electronics, the authority said in a report.
The construction materials industry and the chemicals industry declined 6.5 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, in wholesales revenue, which were mainly driven by falling construction material exports and dwindling petrochemical product prices.
The wholesale revenue in the automotive industry and the food, beverages and tobacco industry saw sales rise 16.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.
For the first three quarters, wholesale sector sales dropped 3 percent to 7.6 trillion new Taiwan dollars compared with the same period last year.
