April Trade Deficit of $2.6 Billion... Semiconductor Exports Down 41% (Update)

Due to sluggish semiconductor and exports to China, South Korea's trade deficit continued for 14 consecutive months from March last year to last month. Exports also declined for seven consecutive months since October.

According to the "April Export-Import Trends" announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, the trade balance recorded a deficit of $2.62 billion last month. During the same period, exports (provisional customs clearance basis) amounted to $49.62 billion, down 14.2% year-on-year, and imports were $52.23 billion, down 13.3%.

The number of working days last month was 22.5, one day less than the same period last year (23.5 days). Considering the number of working days, the average daily export amount was $2.21 billion, down 10.4%.

Exports have been declining for seven consecutive months. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy analyzed, "The decrease was due to delayed global economic recovery, sluggish semiconductor industry conditions, reduced working days, and a base effect from last April's record-high export performance ($57.8 billion) among all Aprils. The continued slowdown in import demand from China and Vietnam mainly affected the decrease in exports to China and ASEAN."

The cumulative annual export amount this year was $201.159 billion, down 13% compared to the same period last year, and imports were $226.221 billion, down 5%. Accordingly, the annual trade balance this year recorded a deficit of $25.062 billion.

By item, exports of automobiles (40.3%), ships (59.2%), and general machinery (8.1%) increased, but semiconductors plummeted by 41.0%. In addition, exports of IT items such as displays (-29.3%), petroleum products (-27.3%), petrochemicals (-23.8%), and steel (-10.7%) decreased.

By region, exports to the EU (9.9%) and the Middle East (30.7%), where automobile exports surged and exports of general machinery related to infrastructure investment increased, continued to rise. However, exports to China and ASEAN, where the share of semiconductor exports is high, decreased by 26.5% and 26.3%, respectively.

The government plans to implement strong export support measures. The government emphasized, "We plan to actively support the creation of business opportunities and market development so that the achievements of the recent Korea-US summit and the Korea-US Business Roundtable during the US visit can lead to export expansion. In the mid to long term, we will promote technological development investment in semiconductors and other sectors, the establishment of specialized complexes for advanced strategic industries, expansion of investment tax credits, and policy support to strengthen the fundamental competitiveness of our export industries, as well as diversification of export items and markets and the promotion of high value-added products."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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