TAIPEI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Export orders received by Taiwan companies dropped 12.8 percent year on year to 35.31 billion U.S. dollars in January, the island's economic affairs department said Thursday.
Month on month, the export orders in January fell by 19.4 percent from December, the department said in a press release.
The department attributed the shrinking export orders to fewer working days in January due to the Spring Festival holiday and the off-season of manufacturing industries.
The statistics consist of export orders produced both in and outside Taiwan. About 48.8 percent of the export orders received by Taiwan companies in January were produced outside Taiwan, according to the department.
The largest amount of orders was from the United States, followed by the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong as well as Europe. The export orders from the three economies all reduced year on year in January.
