Exports decline for seven consecutive months

From the beginning of the year until Thursday, exports have decreased by more than 10% compared to the same period last year. Additionally, the cumulative annual trade deficit has surpassed more than half of the deficit from last year, which was already the largest ever recorded.

On Friday, the Korea Customs Service announced that the value of exports from April 1 to 20 this year (based on provisional customs clearance) was 32.37 billion dollars, an 11.0% decrease compared to the same period last year. The decline in exports has been ongoing since October of last year. If this trend persists, exports will likely decline for seven consecutive months, including the current month.

There was a significant decline in exports of semiconductors, Korea's primary export industry, with a drop of 39.3% compared to the same period last year. Additionally, exports of petroleum products and wireless communication devices decreased by 25.3% and 25.4%, respectively. However, there was an increase in exports of automobiles (58.1%) and ships (101.9%).

Exports to China decreased by 26.8% year-on-year to 6.297 billion dollars. Similarly, exports to Japan (-18.3%), India (-17.4%), and Vietnam (-30.5%) also experienced significant declines. However, among major countries, exports to the U.S. (1.4%) and the EU (13.9%) increased. Overall, revenue during this period amounted to 36.59 billion dollars, down 11.8% from the same period last year.

Until Thursday, the trade balance was recorded as a deficit of 4.139 billion dollars. The cumulative annual deficit for this year has reached 26.584 billion dollars, which is almost three times the deficit during the same period last year (9.504 billion dollars) and represents 55.6% of last year's total deficit (47.8 billion dollars), which was the highest ever recorded. The trade balance has been negative for 13 consecutive months, from March last year to March this year. Furthermore, the trade balance with China has been in deficit for six months since October last year.


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