South Korea is expected to see a sixth consecutive month of declining exports in March, with overseas shipment down from a year earlier in the first 20 days of the month.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, the country’s provisional export reached $30.95 billion from March 1 to 20, a 17.4 percent drop from the same period last year, while imports fell 5.7 percent to $37.27 billion.

The daily average export value, considering the number of working days, fell by 23.1 percent. There were 14.5 working days during this period, one more day than last year’s corresponding period.

The negative trend in export growth has continued since October of last year and it is the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 that the country’s exports have decreased for six months in a row.

Trade balance for the first 20 days of this month recorded a deficit of $6.32 billion, widening from last month’s deficit of $6.11 billion. The trade deficit has continued for 12 consecutive months, the longest since January 1995 to May 1997.

The cumulative trade deficit for this year was $24.1 billion as of March 20, which is 50.4 percent of last year’s record shortfall of $47.8 billion.

By product, the exports of semiconductors, a mainstay export item for South Korea, decreased by 44.7 percent from a year ago. Other key products that saw a decline in exports included petroleum, steel, wireless communication devices, precision instruments and ships. In contrast, exports of passenger cars climbed by 69.6 percent.

By country, exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, fell by 36.2 percent. The decline in exports to China has continued for nine consecutive months. However, exports to the U.S. increased.

Imports of coal, passenger cars and machinery increased, while those of crude oil, semiconductors, gas and petroleum products declined.

By Pulse

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