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In May 2019, Taiwan exported 6,576,973 kg of fasteners to Japan, making Japan the 3rd largest fastener export destination of Taiwan (note: the 3rd place was originally taken by the Netherlands). Although the export volume to Japan later returned to the 4th place in June, the export value remained at the 3rd place, reaching around USD 18.25 million (up 1.86% from the same period last year). The Japanese Government adjusted upward its forecast for the economic growth rate in Q1 (with a quarter-to-quarter ratio being 2.2%), but Japan is also facing uncertainties such as the increase in its domestic consumption tax rate and the global trade disputes. Accordingly, it’ll still need time to tell whether Taiwan’s fastener export to Japan will continue to grow this year or not.

     The change in ranking this time can be mainly attributed to a significant drop of Taiwan’s fastener export to the Netherlands. In May 2019, Taiwan exported 6,520,654 kg of fasteners to the Netherlands, a huge decline of 24.15% from last year. Although the figure slightly went up and reached 6,686,225 kg, it was still a drop of 16.08% if compared to last year. In May 2019, Taiwan’s fastener to Japan grew 11.69% from last year and also showed a growth of 9.26% in June, making Taiwan’s fastener export to Japan (whether calculated in volume or price) outpace that to the Netherlands for the first time. Even through June, the export price to Japan still remained at the 3rd place and the price was up 1.86% from last year.