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By Kang Yoon-seung
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) — Figures released Monday revealed that South Korea’s exports decreased by 7.9% compared to the same period last year during the first 10 days of September due to reduced shipments of chips and petroleum products.
The Korea Customs Service reported that exports totaled $14.9 billion while imports decreased 11.3% to $16.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.64 billion.
Chip exports, which are a key component of the country’s economy, dropped 28.2% to $2.5 billion, while petroleum product exports declined 14% to $1.39 billion and auto part exports fell 15.1% to $517 million.
However, exports of automobiles increased 32.4% to $1.4 billion and steel products grew 4% to $1 billion.
Exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, were down 17.7% to $3.39 billion, while shipments to the US rose 2.3% to $2.5 billion and exports to Vietnam decreased 1.2% to $1.4 billion.
The European Union and Japan experienced a 14.7% and 9.4% drop in exports, respectively.
August marked the 11th consecutive month of falling exports, primarily due to weak demand for semiconductors and petroleum products. For the year, exports have totaled $424.3 billion, a 12.2% decrease from the same period last year, with a trade deficit of $25.4 billion.
Containers are being unloaded from ships at a port in the southeastern city of Busan in this file photo taken on Sept. 1, 2023. (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
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