TAIPEI (Reuters – Taiwan’s import orders increased in September for the 19th consecutive monthly, a Reuters poll revealed on Monday. It was likely that Taiwan’s export orders rose due to strong chip demand, as the rest of the world is recovering from the pandemic. Meanwhile, the annual holiday shopping season helped sentiment.

A poll of 17 economists found that the median forecast for export orders is 17% higher than last year. The range of growth forecasts was from 6.5% up to 26%.

Taiwan’s export orders, which are often a good indicator of Asia’s hi-tech exports as well as Taiwan’s actual exports, lead by about two to three months.

Export orders from the island nation, which is a gauge of global demand for technology, rose 17.6% to $53.5 million in August. This strong performance was despite the fact that it had been forecasting a weaker smartphone market.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NASDAQ:) is a major part of the supply chain that supplies technology giants like Apple Inc.

On Wednesday, September data will be available.

(Poll compilated by Carol Lee. Reporting by Ben Blanchard. Editing by Rashmi. Aich.