TAIPEI -- The value of Taiwan's export orders for January dropped by 5.7 percent compared with December due to poor seasonal sales for electronics, according to statistics released by Taiwan's economic authorities on Tuesday.

Export orders stood at 37.14 billion U.S. dollars in January, marking an 18-percent increase year on year. The number was 3.9 percent after seasonal adjustments.

The value of orders in the IT and communication industry reached 9.24 billion dollars, a month-on-month drop of 12.6 percent, while the value of orders for electronic products in January reached 8.65 billion dollars, decreasing by 4.7 percent compared with the previous month.

Orders from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong topped those from other countries and regions at 9.39 billion dollars, a drop of 100 million dollars month-on-month. Orders from the United Statesreached 9.03 billion dollars, a drop of 960 million dollars from December.