SEOUL, Feb 1 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s export logged a double-digit growth in the first month of this year, due to continued recovery in global demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report showed today.
Export, which accounts for about half of the country’s export-driven economy, came in at 55.32 billion U.S. dollars in Jan, up 15.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The Jan export topped 50 billion dollars for the first time, amid global demand recovery from the pandemic. The outbound shipment continued to rise in double figures for the 11th consecutive month, since Mar last year.
Import soared 35.5 percent over the year to 60.21 billion dollars last month, sending the trade deficit to 4.89 billion dollars.
The trade deficit surpassed the previous monthly high of 4.04 billion dollars in Jan, 2008, staying in the red for two straight months.
Among the 14 major export items, the shipment of 12 products increased in double digits last month. Semiconductor export soared 24.2 percent from a year earlier to 10.82 billion dollars in Jan, exceeding 10 billion dollars for the ninth straight month.
Petrochemical shipment reached a new monthly high of 5.02 billion dollars on expensive crude oil, and the shipment of oil products surged 88.4 percent to 3.52 billion dollars.
General machinery export advanced 14.1 percent to 4.61 billion dollars, topping four billion dollars for the 11th straight month, amid the expanded global investment in infrastructure.
Steel export surged 50.1 percent to 3.67 billion dollars, on robust global demand and higher product price, and the shipment of telecommunication devices, such as smartphone, kept growing for 15 months in a row.
Display panel shipment increased by 10 percent to 1.99 billion dollars on solid demand for high-end foldable phones, and computer export continued to rise for 11 straight months, as the pandemic boosted contactless services demand.
Automotive export added 2.3 percent to 4.09 billion dollars on strong demand for environment-friendly vehicles and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and auto parts shipment surged 14.2 percent to 2.06 billion dollars.
Shipment to South Korea’s major export destinations all kept an upward trend for at least 10 months.
Export to China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, picked up 13.1 percent over the year to 13.33 billion dollars in Jan, on robust demand for chips, petrochemicals, and mobile devices.
Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) spiked 28.9 percent to 10.26 billion dollars, logging the highest Jan figure on demand for chips, oil products and medical supplies.
Export to the United States and the European Union (EU) continued to increase for 17 straight months, and shipment to Japan and the Middle East kept rising for 10 months running.
Shipment to India and Latin American countries grew in double digits to 1.47 billion dollars and 2.27 billion dollars, respectively.
Meanwhile, import gained at a faster pace than export on the back of the strong energy demand in winter and the higher global energy cost.
Import for three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, amounted to 15.95 billion dollars in Jan, compared to 6.89 billion dollars tallied a year earlier.– NNN-YONHAP
