September Export Surge Driven by More Working Days... Average Daily Exports Down 6.1% (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Releases September 2025 Export and Import Trends
Exports Rise 12.7%, Marking Highest Value in Three and a Half Years
Two Fewer Working Days in October... Ministry Vows "All-Out Effort to Minimize Impact"

Last month, exports surged by nearly 13%, reaching a record high in export value for the first time in three and a half years. This upward trend has continued for four consecutive months. The main factor behind the increase was the higher number of working days, meaning more days when employees went to work. However, when adjusted for this, average daily exports actually fell by more than 6%. In September, the expanded number of working days drove the export growth, but in October, the likely decrease in working days is expected to result in an overall drop in exports. The government plans to make every effort to minimize the impact of fewer working days.

According to the "September Export and Import Trends" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on October 1, exports increased by 12.7% year-on-year to reach 65.95 billion dollars.

Export vehicles are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Exports in September rose by more than 12%, setting a new all-time high for the first time since March 2022, a span of three and a half years. Third-quarter exports (January to September) also surpassed 180 billion dollars (an average of 60 billion dollars per month), reaching 185.03 billion dollars, the highest quarterly figure ever recorded.

The main driver behind last month's export growth was the increased number of working days. Unlike last year, the Chuseok holiday began in October this year. As a result, the number of working days in September 2025 was 24, four days more than the previous year's 20 days. Taking this into account, the average daily export value was 2.75 billion dollars, a decrease of 6.1%.

A Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official explained, "The increase in September exports was largely due to the expanded number of working days," but added, "However, considering that the average daily export value was 2.43 billion dollars in July, 2.59 billion dollars in August, and 2.57 billion dollars for the January to September average, the September figure is not particularly low in comparison."

By product category, the impact of more working days led to increases in 10 out of the 15 major export items. Semiconductor exports grew by 22.0% to a record 16.61 billion dollars, the highest ever for any period, driven by strong demand for high-value memory such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and double data rate (DDR)5, especially for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, as well as stable memory contract prices. This broke the previous record set in August, achieving another all-time high in September.

Automobile exports rose by 16.8% to a record 6.4 billion dollars for September, marking four consecutive months of growth, as both eco-friendly vehicles like electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, as well as internal combustion engine vehicles, saw increases. Used car exports also performed well, reaching 1.04 billion dollars. Auto parts exports turned positive, recording 1.92 billion dollars (up 6.0%).

Ship exports increased by 21.9% to 2.89 billion dollars, marking seven consecutive months of growth. General machinery exports (4.2 billion dollars, up 10.3%) recorded their first positive growth of the year, buoyed by strong performance in emerging markets such as ASEAN, the Middle East, and Central and South America. Petroleum product exports (4.15 billion dollars, up 3.7%) also saw a slight increase due to higher product prices.

Biohealth exports turned positive, reaching a record 1.68 billion dollars in September (up 35.8%). Display exports also reached their highest level this year at 1.75 billion dollars (up 0.9%). Textiles (up 7.1%) and home appliances (up 12.3%) recorded positive export growth for the first time this year.

Beyond the 15 major export items, agricultural, fisheries, and food exports (1.17 billion dollars, up 21.4%) and cosmetics (1.17 billion dollars, up 28.5%) set all-time records for any period, while electric machinery (1.46 billion dollars, up 14.5%) achieved a record high for September, further driving the overall export increase.

By region, exports to China rose by 0.5% to 11.68 billion dollars, ending a four-month streak of declines and turning positive. Exports to the United States fell by 1.4% to 10.27 billion dollars, amid challenges such as tariff policies.

Exports to ASEAN increased for the fourth consecutive month, reaching a record 11.06 billion dollars in September (up 17.8%), driven by growth in key items such as semiconductors, general machinery, and ships. Exports to the European Union also hit an all-time high of 7.16 billion dollars (up 19.3%), thanks to strong performance in the top three export items: automobiles, ships, and general machinery.

Imports in September increased by 8.2% to 56.4 billion dollars. Energy imports (9.4 billion dollars) decreased by 8.8%, but non-energy imports (47 billion dollars) rose by 12.5%.

Last month's trade surplus expanded by 3.12 billion dollars to reach 9.56 billion dollars, marking the largest surplus in seven years since September 2018 (9.62 billion dollars). The cumulative surplus for January to September also grew by 13.85 billion dollars to 50.47 billion dollars.

A Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official stated, "In October this year, due to the Chuseok holiday, there will be two fewer working days, so unlike September, total exports are likely to decrease while average daily exports may increase," adding, "We will strengthen policy support to minimize the impact of fewer working days and help our companies maintain export competitiveness."

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