13 Consecutive Months of Positive Exports... $117.4 Billion to Break the 'All-Time High' Record

$57.52 Billion in October... 4.6% Increase YoY
Andeokgeun "Full Effort to Achieve Record High Performance This Year"

October exports exceeded $57.5 billion, setting a new record for the highest performance in October and continuing the export growth trend for 13 consecutive months. The cumulative export amount this year reached $566.2 billion, leaving $117.4 billion short of breaking the all-time high.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 3rd, October exports 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 records have been broken for three consecutive months, showing a positive trend for 13 consecutive months.

The government expects that achieving this year's target of $700 billion will be difficult, but exports are projected to surpass the record $683.6 billion set in 2022, marking the highest performance ever.

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, it seems unlikely to be achieved by the end of the year. However, we expect to break the all-time high record of $683.6 billion set in 2022."

The strong export performance in October was led by Korea's key items, semiconductors and automobiles. Exports of 10 out of the 15 major export 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 set the highest October performance in six years. Computer exports also increased by 54.1% to $1 billion for 10 consecutive months, and wireless communication devices rose 19.7% to $2 billion 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 record for two consecutive months. Auto 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 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.

October imports 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 increased by 4.1% to $43.2 billion, driven mainly 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).

Minister Ahn Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "Korea's two major export items, semiconductors and automobiles, set record-high performances for October, and overall exports have recorded the highest monthly performance for three consecutive months, maintaining a solid growth trend. We will focus all available resources in a public-private one-team effort to support export expansion so that the strong export momentum continues until the end of the year and leads to the achievement of the highest annual export performance ever."