Exports from Korea are continuing to decelerate during the month of March, which is endangering Korea’s main contributor to the economy. The Customs Service said that exports in the first 10 days of March fell by 19.1 percent compared with last year. If this trend continues, Korea will have experienced three-consecutive months of declining exports. Historically, the longest period of export decline was from October 2014 to July 2016.
Semiconductor exports are weak in value because global prices have fallen. Exports of these products in early March fell by 29.7 percent. Petrochemical exports lost 39 percent in value, and exports of ships fell by 9.7 percent. Exports to China were reduced by 23.9 percent and to the U.S.A by 17 percent.