Taiwanese firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd 2330.TW, TSM.N, are major suppliers to Apple Inc AAPL.O, Nvidia NVDA.O and other global tech companies. The island's export orders, a bellwether for worldwide technology demand, fell 17.6% from a year ago to $45.68 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. The ministry reiterated previous warnings that persistently high inflation and rising interest rates, along with the global repercussions of the war between Russia and Ukraine, could continue to impede economic growth momentum in the months ahead.