July Exports Up 13.9%... '10 Consecutive Months of Growth' (Update)

Ministry of Industry, Trade Trends for July 2024
Trade Surplus of $3.6 Billion... 14 Consecutive Months of Surplus
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Exports in July increased by nearly 14%, continuing the positive export trend for 10 consecutive months since October last year. The trade balance also recorded a surplus for 14 consecutive months.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the export-import trends for July 2024, containing these details.

Cargo is stacked on a container ship docked at Busan Port. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the report, export value reached $57.49 billion, up 13.9% compared to the previous year. July exports marked the second highest performance ever recorded for the month of July, maintaining a positive trend for 10 consecutive months.

Last month, exports of 11 out of the 15 major export items increased. Exports of all IT-related products, including semiconductors, displays, computers, and wireless communication devices, rose for the fifth consecutive month, with combined export value reaching $15.6 billion, marking nine consecutive months of growth. In particular, semiconductor exports recorded $11.2 billion (50.4%), maintaining positive growth for nine consecutive months. Display exports ($1.7 billion, 2.4%) increased for 12 consecutive months, computer exports ($1.2 billion, 61.6%) for seven months, and wireless communication devices ($1.5 billion, 53.6%) for five months in a row.

Automobile exports decreased by 9.1% compared to the previous year, totaling $5.4 billion, due to the impact of major companies' summer vacations. However, automobile parts exports increased by 9.5% to $2.2 billion, turning positive after three months.

General machinery exports reached $4.9 billion (12.5%), the highest ever for July, marking a positive growth after three months. Petroleum products ($4.5 billion, 16.7%) increased for five consecutive months, and petrochemicals ($4.2 billion, 18.5%) for four consecutive months. Biohealth ($1.2 billion, 29.0%), textiles ($900 million, 1.6%), and home appliances ($700 million, 9.4%) also turned to an upward export trend after one month.

By region, exports increased to eight out of nine major markets. Exports to China reached $11.4 billion (14.9%), the highest in 21 months since October 2022 ($12.2 billion), driven by increased exports of IT products such as semiconductors and wireless communication devices due to improved IT industry conditions. The cumulative exports to China from January to July totaled $74.8 billion (6.7%), the highest export amount by region. Exports to the United States also recorded the highest ever July performance at $10.2 billion (9.3%), marking 12 consecutive months of record monthly highs.

Imports in July amounted to $53.88 billion, up 10.5% year-on-year. Energy imports increased by 11.9% to $10.9 billion due to expanded imports of crude oil (16.1%) and gas (23.8%).

Last month, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $3.6 billion, continuing the surplus trend for 14 consecutive months. The cumulative surplus from January to July was $26.7 billion, the largest since 2018.

Minister An Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "The government will concentrate all available resources as a public-private one team to ensure that this year’s goal of the highest export performance ever is achieved without fail. In the second half of the year, we will focus the export field support team on new export growth sectors with high export potential, such as power equipment and K-Food, actively identifying and promptly resolving on-site difficulties faced by export companies, supporting our companies to export even one more dollar."

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