Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Despite weakening to its slowest rate since February 2020, industrial production in Taiwan rose by 0.73 percent year-over-year in June, the 29th consecutive month of growth, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Data compiled by the MOEA showed Taiwan's industrial production reached 136.04 in June, against a base year of 2016.

The subindex for the manufacturing sector -- which accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's total industrial production -- reached 137.81, a year-over-year rise of 0.51 percent.

By sector, the LCD display component subindex saw the biggest drop, falling by 35.15 percent year-over-year to 84.4 -- the largest decline since March 2010 and the third consecutive monthly decrease.

Huang Wei-chieh (黃偉傑), deputy director of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, said the increase in industrial production could largely be attributed to the popularity of 5G applications and high-performance computing devices, which had continued to push up demand for semiconductors.

While production generated by semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan in June rose by 7.68 percent from a year earlier, this marked a significant step down from the 21.17 percent growth seen in May.

Huang attributed the moderate growth in the industrial production index and the decline in the production of thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) panels to weak demand for finished electronics products such as televisions and notebook computers.

To give a boost to the TFT LCD sector, flat-panel suppliers should gradually shift the supply of their products for medical or industrial use instead of for use in electronics, he said.

Moreover, June production in the machinery industry fell by 2.83 percent from a year earlier, the second consecutive year-over-year decline, driven by a global economic slowdown and a higher comparison basis in the same period of last year, Huang said.

Looking ahead, Huang said Taiwan's manufacturing production was expected to benefit from the easing of border control by many other major economies and strong demand for emerging technologies.

However, Huang said that could be offset by skyrocketing inflation worldwide and a volatile global COVID-19 situation.

(By Cheng Hung-ta and Evelyn Kao)