South Korea’s exports of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels are projected to hit a record high of $13 billion this year amid ever-expanding application of flexible panels.

According to a report released by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Display Industry Association on Wednesday, the country’s OLED exports for 2021 are forecast to reach a record high of $13 billion, up 19.6 percent from last year. OLED panels are also expected to account for the largest 70 percent in the country’s overall display exports.

Korea’s OLED exports topped $10 billion won for the third consecutive year in 2020 with the shipment value expanded 6.4 percent on year to $10.9 billion.

Brisk OLED exports are anticipated to drive shipments of display this year. Korea’s overall panel exports for 2021 are estimated to grow 2.4 percent on year to reach $18.4 billion. Outbound shipments of display products had been on the fall – from $24.7 billion in 2018 to $18 billion in 2020.

Large-sized panels for high resolution OLED TVs and innovative rollable TVs, as well as gaming and laptop monitors requiring ultra-high picture quality are expected to drive the growth in OLED exports this year. The demand for small- and medium-sized OLED panels is also anticipated to be strong this year on releases of new premium smartphone models and expanded use of OLED screens by budget handsets.

The global display market is also on the expansion. Global technology market researcher Omdia has estimated the global display market to grow 13.8 percent on year to $139.8 billion this year, driven by a rise in use of IT products for contactless lifestyle and robust demand for premium OLED products. The research firm projected the global OLED market to grow 28.4 percent and LCD 9.3 percent.

By Pulse

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