Seoul: South Korea's exports decreased by 5.2 percent year-on-year during the first 20 days of April, impacted in part by reduced shipments to the United States amidst ongoing tariff measures, data revealed on Monday. Outbound shipments for the period totaled US$33.87 billion, down from $35.75 billion in the same timeframe last year, as reported by the Korea Customs Service.
According to Yonhap News Agency, imports also saw a decline of 11.8 percent year-on-year to $34 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1 billion. A closer look at the destinations showed that exports to the U.S. fell by 14.3 percent to $6.18 billion. Conversely, shipments to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, rose by 7.6 percent to $7.64 billion.
An official from the agency, speaking anonymously, noted, "There is a tendency for exports to increase toward the end of the month, so it remains to be seen whether this downward trend will continue on a monthly basis."
In terms of specific items, semiconductor exports rose by 10.7 percent year-on-year to $6.47 billion, representing 19.1 percent of South Korea's total exports during the period and marking an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the previous year. However, automobile exports experienced a 6.5 percent decline to $3.67 billion, while petroleum product shipments dropped by 22 percent to $2.2 billion.
In contrast, March saw a 3.1 percent rise in exports from the previous year, reaching $58.3 billion, marking the second consecutive month of export growth.