SEOUL: South Korea’s exports of information communication technology products contracted for the second month in a row in November due to weak global demand, government data showed Thursday.
Outbound shipments of ICT products hit $14.34 billion last month, down a sharp 7 percent from the $15.42 billion tallied the year before, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Last month’s number is also down 10.5 percent from the $16.03 billion reached in October, when outbound shipments dipped 1.6 percent on-year.
“The drop in global demand for electronic devices impacted overseas sales,” a ministry representative said. “Outbound shipments of ICT products backtracked at a faster pace last month than the country’s overall exports that fell 4.7 percent on-year.” Imports, on the other hand, jumped 7.2 percent on-year to $8.04 billion last month, with the country logging a surplus of $6.3 billion in this sector.
The decrease in ICT exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy was attributed to losses in shipments of semiconductors and displays that fell 10 percent and 19.7 percent, respectively, when compared with November 2014. Digital TVs and computers, including peripheral devices, were down 26.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, compared with the year before.
These losses offset gains in mobile phones that advanced 20.2 percent on-year to $2.89 billion. “Mobile phones did well, since the latest gains mark the fourth straight month that exports rose by double digits,” a ministry official said.
He said that sales of smartphones made by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. fueled growth, despite competition from Apple Inc. and Xiaomi Tech. Exports of semiconductors stood at $5.19 billion, with numbers for panels reaching $2.39 billion.
By region, shipments to China, the world’s single largest market for South Korean products, edged up 1 percent on-year to $8.35 billion, but exports to the United States fell 6.6 percent to $1.41 billion. Exports to the European Union and Japan lost ground.
In regards to imports, November marked the fifth consecutive month that numbers rose on-year, with the rise being attributed to demand for mobile phones and semiconductors.
Semiconductor imports reached $3.34 billion, up 7.7 percent on-year, while figures for mobile phones surged 49.5 percent to $1.18 billion. In the first 11 months of the year, South Korea’s ICT exports dipped 0.7 percent on-year to $159.88 billion. Imports were up 5.7 percent to $84.16 billion, according to the data.
