The monthly exports of the domestic information and communications technology (ICT) sector fell 2.1 percent year-on-year in August. Although it recorded a trade balance much higher than the overall industry average, both the exports and trade balance growth slowed down a bit.
According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the sector’s exports totaled US$14.19 billion in August this year. The year-on-year drop is for the first time since May, when the percentage fell by 7.6 percent from a year earlier. By export destination, the amount of export to China and Hong Kong dropped by 1.4 percent to US$7.33 billion and those to the U.S. and the E.U. fell 0.4 percent and 8.5 percent to US$1.36 billion and US$1.03 billion, respectively. Exports to Japan, in the meantime, plummeted by 24.3 percent to US$410 million to show a decrease for four months in a row.
By item, semiconductor exports reached US$5.24 billion with a year-on-year growth rate of 5.0 percent, while mobile phone and display panels posted US$2.08 billion and US$2.48 billion with a 6.6 percent and 0.4 percent increase each. However, digital TV exports showed a rapid decline of negative 40.3 percent.
“The daily average exports increased year on year in fact in August this year, and the 2.1 percent drop can be attributed to the exceptionally high August performance recorded in 2013 and the one less business day this year,” said representatives of the ministries, adding, “In August 2013, the monthly exports increased by 11.4 percent from a year earlier.”
The ICT sector’s trade surplus amounted to US$7.46 billion in the same month, contributing greatly to the overall trade surplus of Korea at US$3.41 billion. ICT imports increased 5.9 percent to US$6.73 billion during the same period.
The cumulative ICT exports and trade balance from January to August 2014 totaled US$102.3 billion and US$56.2 billion, respectively. In the preceding year, the respective amounts were US$109.8 billion and US$57.4 billion.