February Export Turns Positive and Trade Balance Surplus (Supplement)

Exports Reach 52.6 Billion Dollars, Up 1.0% from Last Year
Trade Surplus Recorded at 4.3 Billion Dollars

Exports last month showed a slight increase, turning positive. The trade balance was recorded at a surplus of 4.3 billion dollars.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that exports in February amounted to 52.6 billion dollars, a 1.0% increase compared to the same period last year.

Export vehicles are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province. 2025.2.13. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong

An official from the Ministry said, "Last month's exports recorded the second highest performance among all Februaries on record, turning positive," adding, "Among the 15 major export items, exports increased in four items including two IT sectors?computer SSDs and wireless communication?as well as automobiles and biohealth."

Semiconductor exports amounted to 9.6 billion dollars, down 3% from 9.9 billion dollars in the same month last year. The Ministry analyzed that despite strong performance in high-value memory semiconductors such as HBM and DDR5, the fixed prices of general-purpose memory semiconductors (DDR4 and NAND) fell sharply. Computer SSD exports increased by 28.5% to 800 million dollars, marking 14 consecutive months of growth, while wireless communication device exports rose 42.3% to 1.5 billion dollars, turning positive.

Automobile exports increased by 17.8% to 6.1 billion dollars, breaking a three-month negative streak since last November, driven by hybrid vehicle exports which rose more than 50% compared to the same month last year (1.3 billion dollars, 74.3%). Biohealth exports grew 16.1% to 1.4 billion dollars, centered on biopharmaceutical exports (600 million dollars, 45.5%).

In the case of petroleum products, which account for 60% of total exports, international product prices for gasoline and diesel fell by more than 10% compared to the same month last year. Additionally, production volume decreased due to scheduled maintenance of major refineries, resulting in a 12.2% decline to 3.9 billion dollars compared to the same month last year.

In February, exports increased in four out of nine major markets. Exports to China recorded 9.5 billion dollars (-1.4%), remaining steady compared to 9.6 billion dollars in the same month last year, despite a slowdown in semiconductor exports, the largest export item, as exports of wireless communication devices and general machinery showed favorable trends. Exports to the United States increased by 1.0% to 9.9 billion dollars compared to the same month last year.

Exports to the three major markets, ASEAN, reached 9.6 billion dollars (12.6%), the second highest February performance on record, as exports of the two major items, semiconductors and petroleum products, both increased.

Exports to India recorded 1.7 billion dollars, up 18.6%, marking the highest February performance on record. Exports to the Middle East also turned positive after three months, reaching 1.7 billion dollars (19.6%).

The trade balance in February achieved a surplus of 4.3 billion dollars, an increase of 450 million dollars compared to the same month last year. Notably, the surplus in February exceeded the deficit of 1.9 billion dollars in January, resulting in a trade surplus of 2.4 billion dollars for the year through February.

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