South Korea’s exports fall 11% on-year in first 20 days of April

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s export decline, which began in October last year, is expected to continue for a seventh month this month due to the ongoing slump in the global chip industry.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Friday, the country’s outbound shipments stood at $32.37 billion through the first 20 days of April, down 11 percent from a year ago. Imports shed 11.8 percent on-year to $36.59 billion during the same period, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.14 billion.

By product, exports of semiconductors dropped 39.3 percent, petroleum products fell 25.3 percent and wireless communication devices slipped 25.4 percent. Exports of passenger vehicles rose 58.1 percent and ships gained 101.9 percent during the comparison period.

By country, exports to China dropped 26.8 percent, Vietnam fell 30.5 percent and Japan slipped 18.3 percent, while exports to the U.S. rose 1.4 percent and those to the European Union gained 13.9 percent.

The country saw a 47.2 percent increase in imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and 2.5 percent rise in gas, while imports of crude oil dropped 37.2 percent and coal fell 20.2 percent in the same period.

The trade balance was in deficit for 13 consecutive months from March last year to April this year, and the trade deficit with China has remained for six consecutive months since October last year.

Through the first 20 days of this month, the trade deficit was $4.14 billion, with the trade deficit with China accounting for nearly half of the figure with $1.99 billion.

For the year-to-date through April 20, the country’s cumulative trade deficit was $26.58 billion, which is 55.6 percent of last year’s annualized trade deficit of $47.8 billion.