Seoul: South Korea's exports rose 3.1 percent in March compared to the previous year, reaching US$58.3 billion, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and other information technology (IT) products.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that this marks the second consecutive month of export growth. Imports also saw an increase of 2.3 percent on-year to $53.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.98 billion.
The semiconductor sector played a significant role in this growth, with outbound shipments surging 11.9 percent on-year to $13.1 billion in March. This rebound follows a 3 percent on-year decrease the previous month, as demand for high-value products like high bandwidth memory and DDR5 memory chips rose.
Other IT products also experienced gains. Exports of computers, including solid state drives, increased by 33.1 percent to $1.2 billion, marking 15 consecutive months of growth. Wireless communications device shipments climbed 13.8 percent to $1.3 billion, and display exports rose 2.9 percent to $1.5 billion, ending a seven-month decline.
The automotive sector saw a 1.2 percent increase in exports to $6.2 billion, as shipments of hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicles compensated for a drop in electric vehicle sales.
Ship exports surged 51.6 percent on-year to $3.2 billion, the highest monthly figure in 15 months, while bio-health product shipments increased 13.2 percent to $900 million.
However, some sectors faced challenges. Petroleum product exports fell 28.1 percent to $3.3 billion due to lower international oil prices and maintenance at major refineries. Steel exports also declined by 10.6 percent to $2.6 billion.
Export destinations varied in performance. Exports to China decreased by 4.1 percent to $10.1 billion due to weak chip sales, while exports to the United States increased by 2.3 percent to $11.1 billion. Shipments to ASEAN countries grew 9.1 percent to $10.3 billion, surpassing exports to China for the second month in a row, driven by strong sales of chips and display products.
Exports to the European Union rose 9.8 percent to $6.3 billion, supported by demand for ships and bio-health products. The Middle East saw a 13.6 percent rise in exports to $1.8 billion, and exports to Japan grew 2.2 percent to $2.2 billion.
Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun noted the strong export performance and trade surplus for the second month running in March, highlighting growth across all IT sectors for the first time in eight months. He acknowledged the challenges posed by protectionist trade policies, including U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Minister Ahn emphasized the government's commitment to easing export industry uncertainties through negotiations with the U.S. and support measures for local industries. The U.S. is set to implement 25 percent tariffs on imported cars starting Thursday and announce reciprocal tariffs for trading partners.