Exports And Imports Posted Decline of Six Straight Months

The exports and the imports showed the decline tendency for six consecutive months, signaling the accompanying slumps of the exports and the imports.

According to the customs records of August, estimated by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) on 1st, the last month`s exports totaled $11.91 billion, 19.4 percent down year-to-year, and the imports fell down to $11.41 billion, down 15.1 percent year-to-year.

As a result, the trade balance got into the black of $501 million. The surplus parade in the trade balance continued for 19 straight months from February last year.

During the period from January to August, the exports amounted to $101.97 billion 8.9 percent lower than the same period of last year, and the imports reached $95.3 billion 10.1 percent lower than the same period of last year. The trade balance recorded the surplus of $6.94 billion in this period.

The MOCIE explained that the exports dropped because the exports of the semiconductors and the computers have been sluggish due to the prolonged slump of the information technology industry, and the exports had increased very highly by 30.1 percent in August of last year.

Kim Chil-Doo, the head of the trade investment bureau of the MOCIE, told that ``the rate of the exports decline in August was relatively lower than last month`s 20.5 percent, and the amount of the exports increased $0.4 billion more than last month`s $11.49 billion, in spite of the vacation season. Thus, there will no more decline in exports.``

By products, the exports of semiconductor fell by 62 percent, amounting $920 million, and the computer (-32 percent), petrochemistry (-15 percent), and steel (-11 percent) recorded the greatest decline. On the other hand, the communication cable (82 percent), wireless communication equipment (47 percent), car (2 percent) and ship (1 percent) showed the favorably growing tendency.

While the imports of the capital goods fell by 26.3 percent due to the contraction of the facility investment and the economic sluggishness, the imports of raw materials declined only by 4.4 percent. On the contrary, the imports of the consumer goods increased by 3.1 percent, as the imports of color TV, clothes, and cosmetics grew.

By export destination, the exports showed the greatest decline in major countries such as USA (-21.5 percent), Japan (-26.2 percent), the EU (-10.2 percent), China (-10.7 percent). But the sales have increased in such countries as Australia, the Eastern Europe Bloc, and India.

According to the MOCIE, the exports declined to the greatest extent in the history in Taiwan (-28.4 percent) and Singapore (-27.6 percent) during July. As the imports to Japan have declined by 19 percent, the surplus also plummeted by 52 percent. The exports have been seriously dull in the Asian countries that have heavily depended on the U.S, except China.

Kim Sang-Chul sckim007@donga.com