South Korea’s ICT exports rise for 9th straight month in July

South Korea’s exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose for the ninth consecutive month in July, thanks to solid performance of major sectors, data showed Thursday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products came to US$19.4 billion last month, up 32.8 percent from $14.6 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Imports of ICT products increased 6 percent on-year to $12.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $7.28 billion in the sector.

By item, chip exports surged 49 percent on-year to $11.2 billion in July, posting a double-digit increase for the ninth straight month, on robust global chip demand sparked by the growth of the artificial intelligence market and the recovery of the IT device market.

In particular, outbound shipments of memory chips shot up 89 percent on-year to $6.8 billion as the average quarterly price of DRAM continued to increase and the demand for high-value products, like high-bandwidth memory chips, expanded.

Ove
rseas sales of displays edged up 2 percent to $1.93 billion on the recovery of the electronic device market, and exports of mobile phones soared 69.4 percent to $1.23 billion as the demand for mobile phone parts sharply increased in China and Vietnam.

Exports of computers and peripherals also jumped 51.1 percent to $1.31 billion on growing demand for data centers, but exports of communications equipment dropped 2.4 percent to $190 million.

By nation, combined shipments to China and Hong Kong advanced 31.1 percent on-year to $7.92 billion, logging a gain for the ninth consecutive month on an overall increase in chip and display exports.

Exports to Vietnam climbed 23.7 percent to $3.12 billion on chips and mobile phones, and exports to the United States escalated 40.1 percent to $2.42 billion on chips and computers.

Outbound shipments to the European Union also rose 23.5 percent to $1.01 billion, but exports to Japan fell 34.7 percent to $270 million.

Source: Yonhap News Agency