The total production value of Taiwan's optoelectronics industry was NT$1.27 trillion (approximately US$38.96 billion) in 2006, up 11 percent from the previous year's NT$1.15 trillion, according to statistics by the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA), the China Post reported Friday. The figure represents a 13 percent share of the global optoelectronics market in 2006. The ratio is expected to increase one percent this year, the association said.

PIDA estimates that the optoelectronics industry growth rate in the next few years will average 12 percent, and the total output value could reach NT$1.84 trillion in 2009, the Post said. Of the total output value of US$39 billion in 2006, the display industry generated US$25.2 billion, or 64.6 percent, followed by the optostorage industry (US$7.2 billion or 18.6 percent) and the opto-input devices (US$2.6 billion or 7 percent), said Murphy Lin, a manager at the PIDA.

The total production value of the top 10 optoelectronics products reached around NT$1.2 trillion, occupying up to 95 percent of the total industry output. These products included TFT-LCDs, TN/STN LCDs, CD/DVD-R/RW drives, CD/DVD-Rs, digital cameras, image scanners, LEDs and optical components.

Lin said solar batteries enjoyed the highest growth rate, 136 percent, among all optoelectronics products in 2006, thanks to soaring energy prices and Europe's environmentally friendly energy policy.

PIDA said the growing FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) markets in the US and Japan have helped boost the growth of the optocommunication industry, with sales of optical fibers and cables growing 22 percent and optical active component sales rising 23 percent, according to the article.

For more information, visit: www.pida.org.tw