Q1 Exports by SMEs Increase 2.0% This Year... Surge in 'Jindan Kit'

Source=Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] In the first quarter of this year, exports by domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased by 2.0% compared to the same period last year. They performed well despite difficult conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 15th, SME exports in the first quarter of this year recorded $24.2 billion. This result is analyzed to be due to favorable exports of key items, an increase in operating days, and the base effect despite difficult conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

By country, exports to the top five markets, which account for 56.9% of total exports, slightly increased by 0.02%. Looking at the export trends of major countries, exports to China (△4.8%), Japan (△1.6%), and Hong Kong (△5.5%) decreased, but exports to the United States (8.0%), Vietnam (4.9%), Taiwan (20.8%), and Russia (4.0%) increased.

By item, among the top 20 key export items (accounting for 49.4% of exports this year), exports of 14 items increased, centered on other textile products and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. In particular, exports of diagnostic kits in January and February this year amounted to $21 million, showing a 35.8% increase compared to the same period last year, demonstrating strong performance.

The increase in exports is also evaluated to have been influenced by an increase of 2.5 operating days compared to the same period last year (65.5 days in Q1 2019 → 68 days in Q1 2020) and the base effect due to export sluggishness in Q1 2019 (6.1% decrease).

The number of exporting SMEs in the first quarter of this year increased by 2.7% compared to the previous year, reaching 62,396. The export share of SMEs rose by 0.6 percentage points to 18.5% compared to the same period last year, showing relatively strong performance compared to large and medium-sized enterprises.

However, in terms of average daily export value, January this year increased by 1.2%, but February (△5.1%) and March (△2.1%) decreased. For the quarter, it decreased by 1.6%, indicating some negative impact.

An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "China, the largest export destination, is gradually recovering from the impact of COVID-19, but other regions such as the United States, Europe, and Japan are still experiencing the spread of infections, so global trade is expected to contract this year." He added, "To respond to changes in the trade environment caused by COVID-19, we will significantly strengthen non-face-to-face export support and prepare field-oriented export support measures for newly emerging promising export items such as hand sanitizers and diagnostic kits."

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