Exports down for 5th month in Feb. on falling chip demand

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Korea's exports fell for the fifth consecutive month in February due mainly to weak global demand for semiconductors amid an economic slowdown, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

Outbound shipments fell 7.5 percent on-year to $50.1 billion in February, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Exports have logged an on-year fall since October last year amid aggressive monetary tightening by major economies to curb inflation. It is also the first time since 2020 that exports have declined for five months in a row.

The decline came as exports of semiconductors, the country's key export item, dived 42.5 percent last month on falling demand and a drop in chip prices.

A high base effect was also behind the decrease last month, as exports advanced 21.1 percent to $54.16 billion in February 2022, the highest figure for any February, according to the ministry.

Imports rose 3.6 percent on-year to $55.4 billion in February, as the country's energy imports went up 19.7 percent on-year, the ministry said. Korea depends on imports for most of its energy needs.

Accordingly, the country suffered a trade deficit of $5.3 billion last month.

Imports have exceeded exports in Korea since April last year on high energy prices, and it is the first time since 1997 that the country has logged a trade deficit for 12 months in a row.

In detail, overseas sales of semiconductors came to $5.96 billion last month, compared with $10.37 billion a year earlier, due to the downturn of the world's chip market.

The average contract price of DRAM fell to around $2.21 in December last year from about $3.4 in the first half of 2022, according to government data.

Sales of petrochemicals decreased 18.3 percent to $4.6 billion, and exports of steel products went down 9.8 percent to $2.97 billion.

Global sales of display items skidded 40.9 percent to $1.12 billion, and shipments of bio and health items tumbled 32.1 percent to $1.07 billion in February.

But car exports soared 47.1 percent to $5.6 billion, and sales of petroleum products rose 12 percent to...