SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s exports to China decreased by 26 percent in the first six months of 2023 due to a global economic slowdown that resulted in reduced demand for chips and display items, data showed Friday.
Outbound shipments to China totaled $60.18 billion during the January-June period, compared to $81.38 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to the industry ministry.
Sales of major exports, such as semiconductors and display items, plummeted by 39.8 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively. Petrochemicals exports also declined 23.9 percent year-on-year in the first half.
This decrease was mainly attributed to China’s weak exports of its key IT products to the rest of the world, which reduced the demand for South Korean chips and intermediary goods, the ministry said.
South Korea reported a year-on-year decline in exports to China for 13 consecutive months through June and posted a trade deficit for nine consecutive months.
China is South Korea’s top trading partner, accounting for 23.2 percent of the nation’s total exports in the first half of 2023. This figure, however, was 1.9 percentage points lower than the 25.1 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year.
South Korea’s exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also dropped 20.4 percent in the first half due to weak demand for chips and display products.
On the other hand, exports to the United States and the European Union rose 0.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively, in the first half.
“The top economic priority for the second half is the expansion of exports,” Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun said. “The government will expedite signing a trade and investment promotion framework with emerging nations and will closely monitor the difficulties of exporters.”
Containers are stacked at a pier in the southeastern port city of Busan, in this July 4, 2023, file photo. (Yonhap)
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