By Gabby Chen

(JW Insights) May 10 -- Chipmaking equipment exports from the Taiwan region to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong fell by 26% year-on-year in April, with the total export value amounting to $151 million, marking the 10th consecutive month of decline, reported Taiwan-based Economic Daily News.

In April, the exports of integrated circuit (IC) chips from Taiwan region to Chinese mainland experienced a year-on-year decline of 19%, which marks the sixth consecutive month of decline.

According to Taiwan's Customs Administration, the total import and export trade volume from Taiwan region to Chinese mainland in Q1 was $60.31 billion, a 26.5% year-on-year decrease. Among which, the exports to the Chinese mainland were $44.429 billion, a drop of 28.0% compared to the previous year, while imports were $15.877 billion, down 22.1%.

Imports of IC from Chinese mainland saw a significant decline of 22.9% in quantity and 26.7% in value in the first quarter of this year, signaling a slowdown in the consumer electronics market that uses these components. Analysts attribute this as the main reason for the significant decline in Taiwan's exports to mainland China, said the Economic Daily News report.