SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) — South Korean exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products experienced a downturn for the fourteenth month in a row in August, but the rate of decrease was the lowest in around ten months, according to government data released Thursday.
ICT exports totaled $16.1 billion last month, a 16.7 percent decrease from $14.6 billion in the same month of the previous year, the Ministry of Science and ICT reported.
It was the smallest year-on-year drop since October last year, when ICT exports declined by 10.3 percent.
The value of ICT exports has been on the decline since July last year, but the rate of decrease has been slowing after peaking at 35.9 percent in April.
South Korea’s ICT imports in August fell 18.1 percent year-on-year to $11.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5 billion in the sector.
Exports of semiconductors, which accounted for nearly half of all ICT shipments, decreased 21.1 percent year-on-year to $7.5 billion as a result of falling DRAM prices in the global market.
DRAM prices plummeted to $1.30 last month from $2.88 in July of last year.
Overseas sales of mobile phones and computers dropped 12.2 percent and 47.7 percent to $990 million and $660 million, respectively.
However, exports of displays rose 1.8 percent year-on-year to $2.1 billion, the first increase in fifteen months, due to increased demand for mobile OLED screens.
Shipments to China and Hong Kong combined decreased 20.6 percent year-on-year to $6.6 billion.
Exports to the United States and the European Union dropped 29.5 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while those to Vietnam increased 1.7 percent.
This file photo taken Sept. 1, 2023, shows containers at a pier in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan. (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
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