APD | South Korea’s exports increase in early days of 2020

By APD writer Alice

The Korea Customs Service said South Korea saw a 5.3 percent rise in exports in the first 10 days of January, mainly due to rising shipments of semiconductors.

The country's outbound shipments stood at 13.3 billion USD in the January 1-10 period, compared with 12.7 billion USD in the same period last year.

Exports of semiconductors and petrochemical goods surged 11.5 percent and 30.6 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, those of passenger cars and wireless equipment fell 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent.

South Korea's shipments to Vietnam and Japan increased 11.7 percent and 6 percent, respectively. In contrast, those to China and the United States dropped 3.5 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

South Korea’s imports were worth 15.4 billion USD in the 10-day period, up 5.7 percent year on year.

Last year, the country’s exports plunged 10.3 percent, marking the first time in 10 years the annual exports dropped by a two-digit rate.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)