South Korea’s Exports Jump 49.4% in Early April on Chip Surge; Crude Imports Rise for Third Month

Containers are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. [Photo by Yonhap]

Semiconductor strength pushed South Korea’s exports through mid-April to the highest level ever recorded for that point in the month, while crude oil imports rose for a third straight month amid the war in the Middle East.

The Korea Customs Service said Monday that exports for April 1-20 totaled $50.4 billion on a customs-clearance basis, up 49.4% from a year earlier. With the same 15.5 working days as last year, average daily exports came to $3.25 billion.

Semiconductors led the gains. Chip exports rose 182.5% to $18.3 billion, lifting their share of total exports to 36.3%, up 17.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Exports of petroleum products climbed 48.4%, and computer peripherals surged 399.0%.

Passenger car exports fell 14.1%, and auto parts declined 8.8%.

By destination, exports increased to China (up 70.9%), the United States (51.7%), Vietnam (79.2%), the European Union (10.5%) and Taiwan (77.1%).

Imports for the period totaled $39.9 billion, up 17.7%. Imports rose for semiconductors (58.3%), crude oil (13.1%) and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (63.3%), while machinery slipped 0.6%.

Energy imports — crude oil, gas and coal — increased 6.8%. Crude oil imports for April 1-20 rose to $4.8 billion, extending gains from February ($4.4 billion) and March ($4.6 billion).

With exports exceeding imports, South Korea posted a $10.4 billion trade surplus for the period.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kim SeongSeo biblekim@ajunews.com