COVID-19 Causes March Exports to Decline Across 10 Major Teenage Exporters... South Korea Shows Smallest Decrease

WTO Reports South Korea's April Export Value Down 25.1% Year-on-Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] In March, when the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was declared, exports from the world's top 10 exporting countries all declined simultaneously. South Korea's export decline was the mildest among the top 10 exporters, but it appears to have sharply decreased from April.

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the 31st, the merchandise export value of the top 10 exporting countries in March this year sharply decreased compared to the same month last year.

China, the world's largest exporter, recorded export value of $185.146 billion in March, down 6.6% from the same period last year. The United States, ranked second, had export value of $134.58 billion in March, shrinking 9.3% compared to the same month last year.

South Korea, ranked sixth globally, saw its export value decrease to $46.353 billion, down only 1.4% compared to a year earlier. This was the smallest decline among the top 10 exporting countries.

Asian countries were relatively less affected, resulting in a rise in relative rankings. Japan, which rose to fourth place globally, had export value of $59.053 billion in March, down 8.9% from a year earlier. Hong Kong recorded $44.531 billion, decreasing only 4.7%, rising to seventh place worldwide.

European countries experienced significant export impacts in March. Germany, the world's third largest exporter, had export value of $120.68 billion in March, down 9.8%, while the Netherlands, ranked fifth, recorded $57.649 billion, a 9.1% drop. France and Italy, which saw a surge in confirmed cases and deaths, experienced even steeper export declines. France's export value shrank 17.9% to $42.394 billion, and Italy's fell 15.3% to $39.757 billion.

As a result, among the top 10 exporters, the Netherlands dropped from fourth to fifth place, and France and Italy fell from sixth and eighth to eighth and ninth place, respectively.

Mexico ranked tenth. Mexico's export value in March was $38.405 billion, down only 1.6% from a year earlier. The United Kingdom's export value in March was $35.669 billion, plunging 20.5% compared to the same month last year, dropping to 11th place.

From April onward, exports are expected to decline further due to lockdown measures in major countries such as the United States and Europe. The WTO estimated South Korea's export value in April at $36.55 billion, a 25.1% decrease compared to the same month last year.

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