Export and Import Unit Prices Falling

South Korea’s export volume index fell 3 percent in March on year.

The Bank of Korea announced on April 24 that South Korea’s export volume index reached 151.16 last month, down 3 percent from a year earlier.

The electrical and electronic equipment export volume fell 7 percent and the textile and leather product export volume dropped 12.4 percent from a year ago. Besides, the LCD export volume decreased 13.5 percent in March, showing a negative growth for the third consecutive month. The mobile phone export volume fell for eight months in a row with a year-on-year decline of 40.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the semiconductor integrated circuit export volume rose 17.3 percent and the export volume index of the item rose from 127.89 of the previous month.

South Korea’s export value index fell in March this year, too. Specifically, the index went down by 8.8 percent year on year to 128.38. It fell 17.5 percent and 10.9 percent in the electrical and electronic equipment sector and the textile and leather product sector, respectively.

In the meantime, the country’s import volume index reached 128.32 with a year-on-year decline of 6.1 percent. Likewise, its import value index fell 7 percent to 118.12.

Its net terms-of-trade index fell 5.1 percent from a year ago to 92.27. Both export and import unit prices decreased to result in the deterioration in terms of trade that continued for 16 months. The Bank of Korea explained that the deterioration is the longest one since the period of late 2009 to mid-2012.

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