Exports Total US$55.44 Bil. in July
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Aug. 1 that South Korea’s exports totaled US$55.44 billion last month, up 29.6 percent from a year ago. It is an all-time high since records began in 1956 and the previous high is US$55.12 billion, which was recorded in September 2017. Last month’s notable performance is because the exports of 13 out of South Korea’s 15 major export items showed an increase of more than 10 percent and the exports of the other two also increased with the global economy recovering.
The monthly exports increased for the ninth consecutive month and exceeded US$50 billion in March to July this year. In addition, for the first time in 10 years, the exports increased more than 20 percent for four months in a row.
The cumulative exports for the first seven months of this year also hit an all-time high of US$358.7 billion. The annual exports are expected to exceed US$600 billion this year. South Korea’s annual exports topped US$600 billion only once in history and it occurred in 2018, when the figure was US$604.9 billion.
Last month, South Korea’s semiconductor exports increased 39.6 percent year on year to US$11 billion. In addition, its petrochemical and general machinery exports increased 59.5 percent and 18.4 percent to US$4.72 billion and US$4.45 billion, respectively. Those of biotech and healthcare products, rechargeable batteries, agricultural and fisheries products, and cosmetics rose 27.2 percent, 31.3 percent, 3.7 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively.
In that period, South Korea’s imports increased 38.2 percent year on year to US$53.67 billion and it posted a trade surplus of US$1.76 billion to remain in the black for the 15th consecutive month.
In the meantime, the IMF adjusted its global trade growth estimate for this year from 8.4 percent to 9.7 percent last month. Likewise, the OECD and the World Bank adjusted theirs from 3.9 percent to 8.2 percent and from 5 percent to 8.3 percent, respectively. According to the WTO, the international trade volume showed a year-on-year increase of 27.4 percent from January to May this year to reach an all-time high of US$15,834.4 billion.