Due to the semiconductor boom... Japan's hydrofluoric acid imports increased again after 3 years

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Last year, the scale of imports of semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride from Japan rebounded for the first time in three years due to the semiconductor boom. Although the overall import volume significantly decreased due to Japan's export restrictions, the semiconductor market greatly improved for the first time in three years since the 2018 supercycle, leading to an increase in demand for hydrogen fluoride, an essential element in the manufacturing process.

According to trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service on the 12th, the import value of semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride from Japan reached $11.12 million (approximately 13.3 billion KRW) from January to November last year, an 18.6% increase compared to the previous year. The share of Japan in the total imports of semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride into Korea also slightly expanded from 12.9% in the previous year to 13.6% last year.

Customs Service Trade Statistics Screen Capture

Previously, the import scale of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride halved from $66.86 million in 2018 to $36.34 million in 2019 based on value. This was due to the Japanese government's export restriction policy implemented in August 2019, which made it difficult to import high-purity hydrogen fluoride from Japan. Subsequently, in 2020, the import volume sharply dropped to $9.38 million. It was the first time in 17 years that the annual import value fell below $10 million.

The reason for resuming imports of Japanese hydrogen fluoride, which had significantly decreased domestically, is interpreted as the semiconductor boom last year. Since hydrogen fluoride is a material necessary to remove impurities in the semiconductor manufacturing process, its usage inevitably expands depending on market conditions. In fact, the total scale of semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride imported into Korea was $82.01 million from January to November last year, a 12.5% increase compared to the same period the previous year. The total imports of semiconductor manufacturing-grade hydrogen fluoride also rebounded last year after falling by more than half from $159.51 million in 2018 to $72.9 million in 2020.

However, as the localization ratio of hydrogen fluoride continues to increase, the import volume remains significantly reduced. Domestic companies such as Soulbrain, SK Materials, Lam Technology, and E&F Technology have rapidly developed and utilized hydrogen fluoride localization technologies. Additionally, the share of countries exporting hydrogen fluoride to Korea has shifted: Japan's share decreased from 41.9% in 2018 to 13.6% last year (January to November), while the shares of China and Taiwan increased by 17.7 percentage points and 8.7 percentage points, respectively, during the same period.

Kim Kyunghoon, a research fellow at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "After Japan's export restrictions, localization was promoted, and the proportion of directly purchasing high-purity hydrofluoric acid, which Japan ultimately uses, has definitely decreased. Instead, the form has changed to importing hydrogen fluoride, which is an intermediate raw material, from countries like China and processing it domestically."

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