Feb ICT Exports

The container port of Busan, Korea's busiest export port and the world's 5th largest as of 2012.
The container port of Busan, Korea's busiest export port and the world's 5th largest as of 2012.

 

SEJONG, March 10 (Yonhap) – South Korea’s exports of information communication technology (ICT) products grew in Feb. from a year earlier, together with its trade surplus in the sector, the government said Monday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products rose 8.4 percent year-on-year to US$12.84 billion last month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The figure, however, marks a slight drop from the US$13.13 billion posted in the previous month.

“Exports marked a strong growth in February as shipments to advanced countries rose on economic recovery in the United States, Europe and Japan, while shipments to newly emerging economies, such as countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Latin America showed equally strong growth,” the ministry said in a press release.

In Feb., ICT exports to the United States grew 7.9 percent year-on-year to US$1.12 billion, with shipments to Japan surging 19.7 percent to US$530 million.

Combined shipments to the 10 member countries of ASEAN gained 5.4 percent to US$1.65 billion, with shipments to China, the world’s largest importer of South Korean ICT products, jumping 11.1 percent to $6.28 billion.

The country’s ICT imports surged 13.5 percent year-on-year to US$6.21 billion in February.

The trade surplus in the ICT sector reached US$6.63 billion, up from US$6.37 billion in the same month last year.

By product, shipments of cellular phones, including smartphones and parts, spiked 37.7 percent year-on-year to US$2.05 billion, breaching the US$2 billion mark for the second consecutive month, according to the ministry.
Shipments of semiconductors surged 14.6 percent to US$4.47 billion, posting a positive year-on-year gain for 17 straight months.

Exports of display panels, on the other hand, plunged 11.6 percent to US$2.1 billion on a downturn in the global market and shrinking shipments to China.

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