Seoul: South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products reached the second-largest value ever recorded for February, government data revealed, despite a decline in semiconductor sales. The Ministry of Science and ICT reported that outbound shipments of ICT products amounted to US$16.71 billion in February, marking a 1.2 percent increase compared to the previous year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's ICT imports rose by 5.6 percent on a yearly basis, reaching $10.9 billion, which resulted in a trade surplus of $5.81 billion. The data highlighted a mixed performance across different product categories, with exports of semiconductors and display panels decreasing by 3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. Nevertheless, global sales of South Korean mobile phones surged by 33.3 percent. Additionally, exports of computers and communications equipment saw significant growth, increasing by 26.9 percent and 74.1 percent, respectively.
The data also shed light on the geographical distribution of South Korea's ICT exports. Shipments to the United States increased by 11.5 percent, while exports to Vietnam rose by 15.6 percent. Notably, exports to Thailand and India experienced significant growth, soaring by 124.3 percent and 54.9 percent, respectively. Conversely, exports to China fell by 19.6 percent, primarily due to a sharp decline in semiconductor exports, which was influenced by the U.S.'s restriction on high bandwidth memory chip exports to China.
Exports to the European Union declined by 7.6 percent, and shipments to Japan decreased by 5.7 percent year-on-year in February, as indicated by the data.