Trade Balance Turns Surplus After Three Months... February Exports Reach Record High (Comprehensive)

February Exports $53.91 Billion... 20.6% Increase YoY
Trade Balance $840 Million... Successful Return to Surplus
Growth in Semiconductors, Petrochemicals... Bio Also Up 24.7%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The trade balance, which had recorded deficits for two consecutive months since December last year, turned to a surplus last month. The significant increase in exports of key products such as semiconductors and petroleum products led the shift to surplus. Despite domestic and international variables such as the COVID-19 Omicron variant and the Ukraine crisis, exports last month achieved a record high performance.

According to the "February 2022 Export-Import Trends" announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, South Korea's exports last month reached $53.91 billion, up 20.6% compared to the same month last year. Imports during the same period increased by 25.1% to $53.07 billion. The trade balance last month was $840 million, successfully turning to a surplus and escaping from the two-month-long trade deficit.

Although imports last month hit a record high due to the sharp rise in energy prices, the daily average export ($2.696 billion) achieved a monthly all-time high, driving the improvement in the trade balance. The trade balance improved significantly compared to January despite unfavorable domestic and international conditions such as the spread of Omicron, rising raw material prices, and the Ukraine crisis.

Export amount and export growth rate trends. [Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Exports last month exceeded $50 billion for the first time in February history. Exports have been on the rise for 16 consecutive months, and the double-digit export growth rate has continued for 12 months. This is the first time since the recovery from the global financial crisis between 2009 and 2011 that double-digit export growth has continued for 12 consecutive months. This indicates that the export fundamentals are solid.

Exports of the 15 major items and 9 major regions also generally showed an increasing trend, demonstrating growth without concentration in specific items or regions. The largest export item, semiconductors, recorded exports of $10.38 billion last month, surpassing $10 billion for 10 consecutive months. It is the first time in February history that exports exceeded $10 billion. Raw material processed items such as petrochemicals (24.7%), petroleum products (66.2%), and steel (40.1%) all recorded growth rates of over 20%, leading the export boom. In particular, the average export growth rate of petroleum products over the past 11 months reached 97.6%.

Trade Balance Trends. [Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Exports of new industry items such as bio and secondary batteries were also strong. Last month, biohealth exports amounted to $1.58 billion, up 24.7% compared to the same period last year. This was due to the global surge in demand for COVID-19 diagnostic kits and pharmaceuticals caused by the spread of the Omicron variant. Secondary battery exports increased by 10.3% to $690 million.

By region, the four major markets?China, the United States, the European Union (EU), and Asia?all recorded the highest exports for any February on record. Emerging markets such as Latin America and India also increased, with all nine major regions showing growth for 11 consecutive months.

Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "Exports in February increased sharply by more than 20%, achieving a surplus turnaround in three months," adding, "This is a meaningful achievement during a difficult economic period caused by the worsening Ukraine crisis and global supply chain restructuring." Minister Moon stated, "We will focus on export support measures in the first half of this year to minimize the impact of external factors such as the Ukraine crisis on exports," and added, "We will closely monitor corporate trends due to sanctions against Russia and promptly implement support such as resolving logistics difficulties, switching trading partners, and trade finance."

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