Chinese mainland's suspension of natural sand exports to Taiwan will have an impact on the latter's chip manufacturing industry, according to a former vice-minister of commerce.

Wei Jianguo, who is now vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said Taiwan currently consumes around 90 million metric tons of natural sand in a year, among which one third are from the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese mainland announced the suspension of natural sand exports to Taiwan starting Wednesday.

Quartz sand, a type of natural sand, is an important raw material for chip manufacturing, and Taiwan is a major global supplier for chips, Wei said.