TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan-made bicycles are highly competitive around the world and mostly exported, with Europe their biggest overseas market, according to the statistics published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday.
▲圖／翻攝自中國郵報
Around half, or 50.5 percent, of Taiwan's exports of bicycles and bicycle parts went to Europe in 2016, the figures showed.
North America was the second largest market, accounting for 23.4 percent of Taiwan's bicycle exports, and the Asian market was third with a 17.5 percent share.
The three biggest national markets for exports of Taiwan-made bicycles were the United States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, while Germany, the United States and the Netherlands were the three biggest importers of Taiwan-made bicycle parts.
Taiwan has faced increasingly stiff competition in the global market from China, the world's biggest bicycle manufacturer and consumer, but its bicycles have remained popular in Europe because of their light weight and high quality.
Taiwan-made bicycles and parts had a 37.1 percent share of the Netherlands' imports and a 26.1 percent share of Britain's, both higher than China's share in those two markets.
Though the U.S. was one of the biggest national markets for Taiwanese bicycles and bicycle parts, China had the lion's share of the U.S. import market, which favors less expensive bicycles for leisure.
It also dominated Japan's bicycle import market, which focuses on low-priced bicycles for getting to work.
Taiwan-made bicycles accounted for 27.5 percent of the U.S.'s imports in 2016, compared with China's 66 percent share, and only 14 percent of Japan's imports, compared with China's 84.2 percent share.
As for the Chinese market, Taiwan-made bicycles accounted for 91.5 percent of the limited number of assembled bicycles China imported in 2016, and it also supplied 49.8 percent of China's bicycle parts imports.
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