Labor intensive products used to make up 48 percent of all Taiwan's exports, but now comprise less than 20 percent. The composition of Taiwan's exports more and more resembles that of developed nations. Even among traditional labor-intensive goods, Taiwan's products have been markedly improved. For example, Taiwan is no longer the world's largest exporter of bicycles in terms of export volume, yet remains No. 1 in terms of export value. This is primarily because the quality and design of Taiwan's products is continually improving, so its export unit prices are considerably higher than those for products of developing countries.
Some bicycles are even more expensive than motorcycles.
The most prominent demonstration of industrial upgrading is in the electronic information industry. Taiwan is the world's third-largest producer of information products, behind only the US and Japan. And for many important information-related products, Taiwan is in either first or second place. As a result, its mix of exports is substantially different from that of East Asia's developing countries, so the depreciation of Southeast Asian currencies won't have a very large substitution effect on Taiwan. Liberalization measures, the appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar, and competition from other developing countries led to a quick loss in competitiveness for Taiwan's traditional industries.