Taiwan's exports to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong grew by 61.9 percent year-on-year to a record 56.75 billion U.S. dollars during the first six months of this year, the island's economic department said Thursday.

Taiwan's exports rose 49.2 percent year-on-year to 131.98 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of the year, and its imports increased by 64.7 percent to 119.88 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the department's statistics showed.

The mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region remained Taiwan's biggest export destination last month, as they bought goods worth 9.45 billion U.S. dollars from the island, accounting for 41.6 percent of Taiwan's total exports last month.

The island's exports rose by 34.1 percent year-on-year to 22.73 billion U.S. dollars in June and its imports increased by 40.4 percent to 21.32 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year. Its imports and exports have recorded growth for eight consecutive months, which is mainly driven by higher demand, the department added.

The mainland and Taiwan have forged increasingly closer economic ties in the past year. The two sides signed a trade pact, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), on June 29 to further normalize trade and investment relations across the Taiwan Strait.