Ministry of Industry Announces Export-Import Trends
October $57.52 Billion... 4.6% Increase YoY
Andeokgeun "Fully Committed to Achieving Record High Performance This Year"
Exports last month exceeded $57.5 billion, setting a record for the highest performance in October. The export growth trend, which began in October last year, continued for 13 consecutive months. The government forecasted that although achieving this year's target of $700 billion would be challenging, exports this year are expected to surpass the record $683.6 billion set in 2022, marking the highest performance ever.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, exports in October amounted to $57.52 billion, a 4.6% increase compared to the same month last year. This is the highest October performance on record. Since August this year, monthly export records have been broken for three consecutive months, maintaining a positive trend for 13 consecutive months.
Accordingly, the cumulative export amount from January to October this year reached $566.2 billion, a 9.1% increase compared to the previous year. The government had set an export target of $700 billion for this year. To achieve this target, exports worth $133.8 billion must be made in the remaining two months, November and December.
Kim Dae-ja, Director of Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "The $700 billion target was set very ambitiously at the beginning of the year, but given the current situation, achieving $700 billion by the end of the year seems unlikely. However, we expect to surpass the record $683.6 billion set in 2022, which was the highest ever."
The strong export performance in October was led by Korea's key items, semiconductors and automobiles. Among the 15 major export items, exports of 10 items increased. Semiconductor exports reached $12.5 billion (40.3%), continuing the growth trend for 12 consecutive months. Surpassing the previous highest record of $11.6 billion (October 2018), it marked the highest October performance in six years. Computer exports also increased by 54.1% to $1 billion, maintaining growth for 10 consecutive months, while wireless communication devices rose 19.7% to $2 billion, increasing for the eighth consecutive month.
Automobile exports, the second-largest export item, recorded $6.2 billion, a 5.5% increase compared to the same month last year. This is the highest October performance, breaking the monthly export record for two consecutive months. Automobile parts exports also turned positive after three months, increasing by 5.9% to $1.9 billion. Biohealth exports rose 18.5% to $1.2 billion, marking four consecutive months of growth.
By region, exports increased in five out of nine major markets. Exports to China reached $12.2 billion (10.9%), the highest in 25 months since September 2022 ($13.3 billion), continuing an eight-month growth streak, driven by significant increases in semiconductor and petrochemical exports, the top two export items. Exports to the United States recorded $10.4 billion (3.4%), the highest October performance ever, breaking monthly export records for 15 consecutive months. Exports to the European Union (EU) reached $5.3 billion (5.7%), maintaining a positive trend for three consecutive months, supported by strong wireless communication device and biohealth exports.
Imports in October amounted to $54.35 billion, a 1.7% increase. Gas imports rose 30.2%, but crude oil imports decreased by 17.9% due to falling oil prices, resulting in a 6.7% decline in total energy imports to $11.2 billion. Non-energy imports reached $43.2 billion, increasing by 4.1%, mainly driven by semiconductors (19.0%) and semiconductor equipment (52.2%).
The trade balance recorded a surplus of $3.17 billion, an increase of $1.62 billion compared to the same month last year, marking 17 consecutive months of surplus. The cumulative trade surplus from January to October this year was $39.9 billion, the largest surplus since the same period in 2018 ($60.8 billion).
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