* March orders +4.3% y/y vs -10.15% in Reuters poll

* Orders from China +7.5% y/y; U.S. +9.1%

* Ministry sees April orders between -6.3% and -10.3% y/y

* Ministry says virus outbreak to curb growth momentum

TAIPEI, April 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan’s March export orders unexpectedly grew at their fastest pace in 17 months, helped by a boom in telecommuting amid the coronavirus outbreak and as factories begin reopening in China, the island’s largest trading partner.

Export orders for Taiwan, seen as a bellwether of global technology demand, rose 4.3% from a year earlier to $40.26 billion, data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Monday. Economists in a Reuters poll had estimated orders would drop 10.15% compared with a 0.8% decline in February.

The ministry said March’s better-than-expected performance, whose yearly growth was the strongest since October 2018, indicated that “delayed” demand for technology orders has surfaced. Having been ordered to close their factories as part of a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Chinese manufacturers have resumed production.

“Production lines in mainland China have gradually resumed, bringing with it delayed orders,” the ministry said in a statement.

A boom in telecommuting as the coronavirus pandemic kept millions worldwide working from home also boosted demand for laptops and cellphones, the ministry said, adding that March orders for electronics and telecommunication products jumped 23.8% and 6.9% from a year earlier, respectively.

Taiwan’s manufacturers are a key part of the global supply chain for tech giants such as Apple and Huawei. They have been hit by slowing electronics demand as the coronavirus outbreak disrupts production and tough containment measures in many countries force shoppers to stay home.

Last week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the world’s largest contract chipmaker, trimmed its full-year revenue outlook due to weakening demand.

The ministry said it expects April export orders to fall between 6.3% and 10.3% from a year earlier.

The ministry also said while growing demand for new technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence could partly offset the pandemic’s impact, growth momentum for Taiwan’s orders is likely to be “curbed” in the coming months due to the fallout from the coronavirus.

March orders from the United States rose 9.1% from a year earlier, compared with February’s 3.2% growth. Orders from China were up 7.5% versus a 0.1% gain the previous month. European orders gained 5.1% while those from Japan fell 3.9%.

Taiwan’s government has repeatedly warned of uncertainty for the trade-dependent economy, and is rolling out an economic stimulus package it expects will eventually be worth T$1.05 trillion ($35.01 billion).

Earlier on Monday, Taiwan’s statistics agency downgraded its economic growth forecast for this year to between 1.3% and 1.8%, from a February forecast of 2.37%. ($1 = 29.9910 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting By Yimou Lee and Liang-sa Loh; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)