TAIPEI, April 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports in March fell 35.7 percent from a year earlier, a seventh straight month of drop, due to steep falls in electronic goods to key markets such as the United States and China, data showed on Tuesday.
Taiwan, hit harder by the global economic slump than most of its Asian peers, will probably log more falls in exports in the coming months, though the declines might slow given signs that some parts of the world economy may be recovering, analysts said.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports in March to fall 36.1 percent from a year earlier, after sliding 37.2 percent in the first two months of this year.
Taiwan's data came after South Korea, the first major Asian economy to release March trade data, reported a 21.2 percent annual fall in its March exports. [ID:nSEO63762]
Taiwan's exports to China, including Hong Kong, tumbled 37.5 percent in March after a 25.2 percent drop in February.
Shipments of electronic goods, which make up a third of Taiwan's exports, fell 33.6 percent in March from a year earlier, compared with February's 30.1 percent decline.
In March, Taiwan's exports totalled $15.6 billion, while imports fell 49.5 percent to $12.2 billion, more than the 44.5 percent decline forecast by analysts.
The trade surplus came in at $3.4 billion in March, compared with February's $1.67 billion and $129 million in January 2008. (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Kazunori Takada)