TAIPEI - Taiwan's export orders from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong hit an all-time high in the first quarter, according to the island's economic authority Friday.

The cross-Straits export orders placed during the period stood at $31.5 billion, up 11.6 percent year on year, outpacing growth in orders from the island's other major trade partners.

Cross-Straits export orders accounted about 26.7 percent of the total, slightly lower than those from the United States.

In March alone, orders from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong stood at $11.5 billion.

In a regular survey, about 22.3 percent of companies said that they expected export orders to grow in April.