Despite COVID-19 Challenges, Exports Increase 10% from 1st to 20th...Semiconductors Up 20.3% (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), South Korea's export value from the 1st to the 20th of this month increased by 10% compared to the same period last year. Semiconductor and passenger car exports showed signs of recovery, and exports increased in most countries including China and the United States.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 23rd, the export value from March 1 to 20 (provisional customs clearance basis) was 30.7 billion dollars, an increase of 10.0% (2.78 billion dollars) compared to the same period last year. Despite concerns about global economic slowdown and weak demand due to the COVID-19 crisis, exports recorded a positive growth.

However, the number of working days during this period was 16, which is 1.5 days more than last year. The increase in working days is analyzed to have had a significant impact on the recovery of export indicators. Considering the number of working days, the average daily export value was 1.92 billion dollars, a decrease of 0.4% (about 10 million dollars) compared to the same period last year.

Exports of our key item, semiconductors, increased by 20.3% compared to the same period last year. Other items such as passenger cars (13.7%), petroleum products (11.4%), and wireless communication devices (26.6%) increased, while ships (-49.6%) and liquid crystal devices (-16.7%) decreased.

Looking at exports by country, most major countries showed increases: China (4.9%), the United States (27.2%), the European Union (EU, 13.5%), Vietnam (12.1%), Japan (30.5%), Hong Kong (33.6%), and the Middle East (18.3%).

The cumulative export value from January 1 to March 20 this year was 115.056 billion dollars, an increase of 1.3% compared to the same period last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.