According to the statistics released by the Taiwanese Ministry of Finance, in the first half of this year Taiwan's export value of iron and steel and articles made from iron and steel decreased by 5.3 percent from the same period last year, amounting to $8.7 billion. Meanwhile, in the first half of 2013 Taiwan's import value for the products in question decreased by 8.9 percent year on year to $5.9 billion.

In June this year, Taiwan's export value of iron and steel and articles made from iron and steel amounted to $1.4 billion, decreasing by 5.6 percent compared to the same month of 2012 and down eight percent month on month. In June, Taiwan's import value of iron and steel and articles made from iron and steel was $918 million, up 4.3 percent over May and falling 10.8 percent compared to June 2012.