Korea's ICT exports drop for 7th consecutive month in March

Published : Apr 13, 2016 - 11:51 Updated : Apr 13, 2016 - 11:52

South Korea's exports of information communication technology (ICT) products fell for the seventh consecutive month in March as weak global demand and a Chinese slowdown weighed heavily on the country's key industries, government data showed Wednesday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products reached $13.97 billion last month, down 5 percent from $14.7 billion tallied a year before, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

(Yonhap)

ICT exports extended their losing streak to seven straight months, falling since they slipped 1.6 percent on-year in October last year.

Exports of ICT goods accounted for 32.5 percent of the country's $42.98 billion worth of shipments abroad over the cited period.

Imports rose 4.5 percent on-year to $8.01 billion last month, with the country logging a surplus of $5.96 billion in the sector.

"ICT exports fell due to a slump in global demand and a slowdown in China, but the downbeat pace narrowed from a 17.8 percent plunge in January and a 9.8 percent drop in February," the ministry said in a release.

Weak exports of display panels and semiconductors led the decline, with shipments of flat screens sinking 25.2 percent on-year to $2.15 billion and those of chips edging down 1.8 percent on-year to $5.29 billion over the period.

Meanwhile, overseas sales of mobile phones gained 7.9 percent to $2.32 billion last month from a year ago on the back of the releases of new smartphones.

By region, shipments to China and the European Union sank 9.1 percent and 15.7 percent on-year, respectively, while those to the United States jumped 40 percent, the data showed. (Yonhap)