TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan saw exports of integrated circuit chips increase in 2022 for the seventh straight year.

Bloomberg cited data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance that showed chip exports grew by 18.4% from a year earlier. It was also the third consecutive year exports of chips had double-digit growth, according to the report.

“We believe Taiwan is irreplaceable in the near-term in the semiconductor industry,” Barclays PLC economist Bum Ki Son told Bloomberg. The economist said that recent efforts by other countries like the U.S. to boost chip production would not immediately affect Taiwan’s leading position within the sector.

Son also noted that Taiwan’s success in the sector was due to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) dominance, which accounts for over 50% of the global foundry market and an even higher percentage of the cutting-edge chip segment.

Global chip sales have helped drive Taiwan’s exports amid weakening global trade in response to a worldwide dropoff in demand due to the war in Ukraine and inflation worries, among others. TSMC's recent overseas expansion plans, like its upcoming fabs in Arizona, have also kept Taiwan important to places like the U.S., the report said.

TSMC is also building its first plant in Japan, while the company is mulling whether to build a second fab there. There have also been reports that the Taiwanese chipmaker could set up a facility in Germany focused on the car industry.

But while TSMC is increasing its overseas footprint, it will continue to keep the majority of its production within Taiwan, especially when it comes to the company’s most advanced chips.