Affected by the outbreak and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] and sluggish business in the traditional low season, Taiwan's output of CD ROMs in the second quarter is expected to drop by 10.3 per cent to over 19 million units, statistics show. According to the tallies made public by the Market Intelligence Center [MIC] under the Institute for Information Industry [III], the country's second quarter production value of CD ROMs may also fall by 10.3 per cent to US$7 million.

MIC officials attributed the fall to a weaker demand from mainland China, where Taiwan makers enjoy a 50 per cent market share, following the SARS spread in the mainland's southern and northern regions since the middle of April.

However, the MIC officials pointed out that the sales of Taiwan-made CD ROMs in the third quarter may improve should the SARS situation be effectively contained in June in mainland China.