Despite Middle East Conflict, Semiconductor Exports Drive 49.4% Surge Through April 20

Driven by robust semiconductor exports, Korea’s exports from April 1 to 20 once again set a new all-time record. If this upward trend continues through the end of the month, the country will have posted 11 consecutive months of year-on-year export growth since June last year. However, the value of crude oil imports, which is directly affected by the Middle East crisis, has risen for the third consecutive month.

According to the “Export and Import Performance for April 1-20” released by the Korea Customs Service on April 21, export value reached $50.4 billion, up 49.4% from the same period last year. Following the record-breaking performance from April 1-10, the April 1-20 period also marked the highest export value ever recorded for April. The previous record was $36.4 billion, set in April 2022.

Containers are piled up at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

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The number of working days was 15.5, the same as last year. Taking this into account, the daily average export value ($3.25 billion) also rose by 49.4%.

Semiconductors led the surge in exports. Semiconductor exports soared by 182.5% year-on-year, also reaching a new all-time high for April. As a result, the export share of semiconductors expanded by 17.1 percentage points to 36.3%. Exports of petroleum products (up 48.4%), steel products (up 8.6%), computer peripherals (up 399.0%), and ships (up 76.6%) also increased. In contrast, exports of passenger vehicles (down 14.1%), automotive parts (down 8.8%), and home appliances (down 16.4%) declined.

Exports to all of the top 10 trading partners rose. Exports to China increased by 70.9%, to the United States by 51.7%, to Vietnam by 79.2%, to the European Union (EU) by 10.5%, and to Taiwan by 77.1%.

From April 1 to 20, imports totaled $39.9 billion, a 17.7% year-on-year increase. Imports of semiconductors (up 58.3%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (up 63.3%), and precision instruments (up 13.0%) all increased. Notably, crude oil imports have continued to rise for three consecutive months, amounting to $4.3 billion in January, $4.4 billion in February, $4.6 billion in March, and $4.8 billion in April (as of April 1-20). The increase is attributed to rising international oil prices due to the aftermath of the Middle East war and exchange rate fluctuations. However, with imports of gas and coal declining, total energy imports rose by only 6.8%. Meanwhile, imports of machinery (down 0.6%) and petroleum products (down 12.5%) decreased.

By country, imports increased from China (up 29.3%), the United States (up 31.5%), the EU (up 25.5%), and Taiwan (up 47.6%), but fell from Japan (down 1.6%) and Saudi Arabia (down 29.1%).

For the first 20 days of this month, the trade surplus stood at $10.442 billion. As a result, the cumulative trade surplus for this year has reached $60.869 billion.

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