Mid-June Exports Hit Record High of $62 Billion, Semiconductor Share Exceeds 40%

Exports for the first 20 days of this month reached $62 billion, marking a new record high for the mid-month period.

Semiconductors led the growth, accounting for more than 40% of total exports.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Monday (June 22), exports (preliminary customs data) from the 1st to the 20th totaled $62 billion, an increase of 60.4% compared to the same period last year.

This is the highest figure ever recorded for the first 20 days of a month.

The previous record was $54.3 billion, set from March 1 to 20, meaning the record was broken in just three months.

The number of working days was 15, one day more than the 14.0 days recorded a year ago.

Taking this into account, the average daily export value increased by 49.7% to $4.13 billion.

By item, semiconductor exports surged by 188.4% to $25.5 billion.

This is also a record high for the first 20 days of a month.

The share of semiconductors in total exports rose by 18.3 percentage points (p) to 41.2%.

Exports of computer peripherals jumped by 293.3%, driven by increased demand for SSDs used in artificial intelligence (AI) servers.

Exports of passenger cars (2.3%) and petroleum products (39.0%) also saw growth.

The combined share of exports to the top three countries—China, the United States, and Vietnam—reached 49.0%, nearing 50%.

Imports totaled $44.5 billion, an increase of 23.2% from a year ago.

By item, imports of semiconductors (55.5%), crude oil (18.8%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (51.9%), machinery (2.8%), and gas (8.3%) all increased.

Imports of energy (crude oil, gas, and coal) rose by 19.9%.

With exports exceeding imports, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $17.5 billion.

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