July Exports Hit Second-Highest Ever at $98.9 Billion, Up 62.8% Year-on-Year

South Korea's exports last month neared the 100 billion-dollar mark, maintaining a strong upward trend.

While semiconductors, a key flagship item, led exports by exceeding 40 billion dollars for the second consecutive month, the trade surplus also surpassed 30 billion dollars following the previous month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced today that exports for July reached 98.89 billion dollars, an increase of 62.8% compared to the same period last year.

This marks the second-highest monthly figure on record, following June (102.25 billion dollars), which broke the 100 billion-dollar monthly mark for the first time in history.

Semiconductor exports surged 179% to 41.01 billion dollars, also recording the second-highest monthly export figure ever.

The all-time high was set in June at 44 billion dollars.

Semiconductors maintained a robust trajectory as fixed prices continued to rise, despite factors such as Apple's potential adoption of Chinese memory chips and China's unveiling of a new AI model.

Exports across all IT product categories also posted positive growth.

Computer exports jumped 404.0% to come in at 4.79 billion dollars.

Demand for enterprise SSDs continued to grow as big tech companies maintained their stance on expanding AI infrastructure investments.

Wireless communication device exports reached 1.81 billion dollars (up 51.0%), driven by strong sales of premium products like the Galaxy S26, while displays recorded 1.61 billion dollars (up 2.4%) by securing exclusive volume for new products such as the iPhone Ultra (foldable).

Among South Korea's top 20 export items, 19 items excluding home appliances saw increased exports in July.

By region, exports grew in 8 of the 9 major export destinations, excluding the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Exports to China rose 96.2% to 21.68 billion dollars, exceeding 20 billion dollars for the second straight month, while exports to the United States increased by 69% to 17.43 billion dollars.

Bolstered by strong performances in flagship sectors like semiconductors and ships, exports to ASEAN surged 73.7% to 18.8 billion dollars, and exports to the European Union grew 55.7% to 9.38 billion dollars, both setting record highs.

Exports to the Middle East, which had been on the decline due to the Middle East conflict, also increased by 24.7% to 1.83 billion dollars.

Although automobile exports remained sluggish, general machinery, petrochemicals, and wireless communication devices posted strong performances.

Imports in July rose 26.5% to 68.56 billion dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 30.32 billion dollars.

The cumulative trade surplus from January to July stood at 168 billion dollars, an increase of 134.1 billion dollars compared to the same period last year.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.