Korea’s Exports of Materials and Parts Swell 15.6% YoY in 1st Half

In the first half of this year, Korea's exports of materials and parts increased 15.6 percent to US$155.6 billion. This is the largest-ever half-year export volume.

Korea’s surplus in materials and parts trade amounted to US$67.5 billion in the first half of 2018, according to a provisional tally released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on July 19. This amount is US$14.3 billion more than that recorded in the same period of the previous year. Imports rose 8.2 percent to US$88.1 billion.

The Korean materials and parts industry accounted for 52.3 percent (US$155.6 billion) of Korea’s total exports (US$297.5 billion) and 20.9 percent of its trade surplus in the first half of this year.

By item, electronic components such as semiconductors accounted for 42.7 percent (US$66.4 billion) of the total (US$155.6 billion). This is an increase of 26.1 percent from the same period of the previous year. Electronic components were followed by chemical products (16.1 percent, US$25.1 billion) and primary metals (9.1 percent, US$14.2 billion). In particular, exports of memory semiconductors reached US$ 25.6 billion, an all-time high. They ballooned 78.0 percent (US$12 billion) from the same period of last year and recorded double-digit growth in two consecutive quarters.

By region, exports to China accounted for 31.8 percent (US$49.5 billion) of the total, followed by exports to the ASEAN (16.3 percent, US$25.4 billion) and Europe (12.2 percent, US$19 billion). Exports grew to most regions including China (23.5 percent), Europe (21.7 percent) and the US (11.1 percent).