Thanks to strong exports of key items such as semiconductors, displays, and smartphones, ICT exports recorded a growth rate in the 30% range for four consecutive months.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 15th, last month's ICT exports amounted to $19.4 billion, imports were $12.12 billion, and the trade balance showed a surplus of $7.28 billion on a provisional basis. The export value increased by 32.8% compared to July of last year.
ICT exports have recorded a growth rate in the 30% range for four consecutive months since April. In April, ICT exports increased by 33.8% compared to April of last year, and in May and June, they rose by 31.8% and 31.1% respectively compared to the same months of the previous year.
By item, semiconductor exports increased by 49%, display exports by 2%, mobile phone (including parts) exports by 69.4%, and computer and peripheral exports by 51.1%.
The highest growth rate was seen in mobile phone exports, mainly due to parts exports increasing by 107.7% compared to July of last year, centered on major mobile phone manufacturing regions such as China and Vietnam. However, looking only at finished product exports, exports to the United States decreased by 98.2% compared to July of last year, resulting in an overall decrease of 11.6%.
The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that semiconductor exports have increased in double digits for nine consecutive months as the artificial intelligence (AI) market grows and the IT device market recovers, leading to increased semiconductor demand. In particular, memory exports contributed significantly to semiconductor export growth by increasing sharply by 89% compared to July of last year, driven by rising fixed transaction prices and increased demand for high-value-added items such as HBM.
Display exports increased centered on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) as demand for electronic devices such as TVs and PCs recovered, and this growth trend has continued for 12 months.
Exports of computers and peripherals have also been on an upward trend for seven consecutive months due to increased demand for SSDs, a secondary storage device, driven by expanded investment in servers and data centers. By region, exports to China including Hong Kong increased by 31.1%, to Vietnam by 23.7%, to the United States by 40.1%, and to the European Union by 23.5%.
Overall, the strong performance of semiconductor exports was the main factor for export growth by region; however, in trade with Japan, semiconductor exports sharply declined by 64.3% compared to July of last year, causing total IT exports to decrease by 34.7%. ICT imports increased by 6% compared to July of last year due to increased imports of key components such as semiconductors and displays.
By item, imports of semiconductors and displays increased by 16.4% and 14.2% respectively compared to July of last year, while imports of computers, peripherals, and mobile phones slightly decreased. By region, imports from Japan and Taiwan increased by 24.4% and 15.4% respectively, while imports from China including Hong Kong decreased by 15.7%.
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