Photo: VCG

TAIPEI, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's exports dropped 4.6 percent year on year to 28.1 billion U.S. dollars in September, the latest data showed.

The decline was mainly due to the exports of base metals and their products, machinery, plastics and rubber products, according to economic affairs authorities.

For the first nine months, Taiwan's exports dropped 2.5 percent from a year earlier to 242.3 billion dollars.

The island's imports in September fell 0.6 percent from last September to 24.97 billion dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 3.13 billion dollars.

The Chinese mainland remained the biggest trade partner of Taiwan in the first nine months, receiving 65.92 billion dollars of the island's exports, or 27.2 percent of the total.