This study examines the trade positions of Taiwan’s export commodities in the Saudi Arabian market. Three specific questions were stressed: 1) What trends have been illustrated in terms of the market share proportions of Taiwan’s commodities versus the market shares of Taiwan’s major competitors; 2) How large a gap separated the correlations of the compositions of commodities exported by Taiwan from those exported by its competitors; and 3) What were the critical factors affecting the exports of both Taiwan and other competing nations.
The following is a summary of the major findings:
1. The composition of Saudi Arabian imports has gradually become concentrated in basic manufactures, and machinery and transportation equipment as the domestic economy has been developed.
2. Seven major commodities were exported from Taiwan to Saudi Arabia. Among these, the most competitive included. 1) articles of apparel and clothing accessories; 2) wood and cork manufacturers (excluding furniture); 3) fruit and vegetables; and 4) footwear.
3. Our correlation analysis revealed that the difference between Taiwan and Korea in terms of the composition of exported commodities was greater in 1980 than previously. The variation between Taiwan and Singapore was slight and the commodities exported by Hong Kong to Saudi Arabia have rapidly become almost identical to Taiwan’s set of exports, i.e., Hong Kong has moved from a negative to a significant positive correlation. In broad terms, only competition between Taiwan and Hong Kong has shown an important increase.
4. Based on a regression analysis, we found that real exports to Saudi Arabia from Taiwan have been significantly influenced by Saudi Arabia’s real national income in the previous period, while price and non-price competitive factors have proved insignificant; Taiwan’s major competitors have all faced dissimilar situations. Finally, the terms of trade between Taiwan and its competitors cannot explain their relative export performance.
