South Korea’s exports fell 11 percent on-year in the first 20 days of April, data showed Friday, amid the prolonged slump in the global chip industry.
The country’s outbound shipments stood at US$32.4 billion in the April 1-20 period, compared with $36.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Imports shed 11.8 percent on-year to $36.5 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.13 billion.
Exports of semiconductors, the backbone of Asia’s No. 4 economy, slipped 39.3 percent over the period to reach $4 billion amid the global downcycle in the industry.
The shipments of automobiles, on the other hand, soared 58.1 percent to reach $3.48 billion.
Exports of steel and petroleum products shed 12.6 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively, to $2.7 billion and $2.5 billion over the period.
Outbound shipments of ships more than doubled to reach $1.33 billion as well.
By destination, exports to China, the top trading partner of South Korea, fell 26.8 percent to $6.29 billion despite hopes over the reopening of the world’s No. 2 economy.
Shipments to the U.S. edged up 1.4 percent to $5.89 billion, while those to the European Union advanced 13.9 percent over the period to $4.12 billion.
Those to Vietnam and Japan, meanwhile, slipped 30.5 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively.
As of Thursday, South Korea’s combined exports this year moved down 12.3 percent on-year to $183.9 billion. The trade deficit came to $26.5 billion, the data also showed.
In March, outbound shipments fell 13.6 percent on-year to $55.12 billion.
Exports have logged an on-year fall since October last year amid aggressive monetary tightening by major economies to curb inflation. It is also the first time since 2020 that exports have declined for six months in a row.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
