S. Korea's exports sink 24.3% y/y in April due to COVID-19 pandemic
- 4 years ago
4월 수출 24% 급감…무역수지 99개월만에 적자 전환
The coronavirus crisis sent South Korean exports plunging in April at their sharpest pace since the global financial crisis... signalling a bleak outlook for international trade as the pandemic paralyses the world economy and shatters demand.
Exports plunged more than 24-percent year-on-year last month.
Kim Dami reports.
South Korea's exports sunk over 24 percent in April from a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trade ministry said on Friday that total outbound shipments last month amounted to around 37 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of around a quarter from April last year.
Imports were also down almost 16 percent during the same period.
The country suffered a deficit of around 9-hundred fifty million dollars,... breaking its 98-month streak of having more exports than imports.
"While the exports fell a lot, imports didn't fall as much. One of the reasons for that is Korean economy hasn't been hit hard compared to other companies. There's a lot of economic activities going on in Korea so imports did not fall as much as it wouldn't been if Korea was on a lockdown like U.S. or Europe."
The trade ministry, however, noted that the country's manufacturing sector is operating normally, compared to other countries, adding that the trade deficit is just temporary.
Due to low global demand, semiconductor exports dropped almost 15 percent, and smartphone exports fell almost 44 percent.
The ministry noted that the dramatic drop comes after national lockdowns and factory shutdowns in developed countries including Europe in mid-March.
Despite the bad export conditions, including falling global oil prices, exports of bio-tech products such as COVID-19 test kits went up 29 percent.
Computer shipments also jumped by almost 100 percent as people across the globe are working from home and taking online classes.
Vowing to closely monitor the country's trade trends,...Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said on Friday that the government will prepare a new growth engine for life after the COVID-19 crisis and lead the way to the normalization of the global economy.
"Analysts warn that export figures for May are on track to be worse than this month because the impact of the coronavirus on importing countries hasn’t really been reflected in April’s figures. But the length of the downturn in exports will depend on when this pandemic ends.
Kim Dami, Arirang News."
The coronavirus crisis sent South Korean exports plunging in April at their sharpest pace since the global financial crisis... signalling a bleak outlook for international trade as the pandemic paralyses the world economy and shatters demand.
Exports plunged more than 24-percent year-on-year last month.
Kim Dami reports.
South Korea's exports sunk over 24 percent in April from a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trade ministry said on Friday that total outbound shipments last month amounted to around 37 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of around a quarter from April last year.
Imports were also down almost 16 percent during the same period.
The country suffered a deficit of around 9-hundred fifty million dollars,... breaking its 98-month streak of having more exports than imports.
"While the exports fell a lot, imports didn't fall as much. One of the reasons for that is Korean economy hasn't been hit hard compared to other companies. There's a lot of economic activities going on in Korea so imports did not fall as much as it wouldn't been if Korea was on a lockdown like U.S. or Europe."
The trade ministry, however, noted that the country's manufacturing sector is operating normally, compared to other countries, adding that the trade deficit is just temporary.
Due to low global demand, semiconductor exports dropped almost 15 percent, and smartphone exports fell almost 44 percent.
The ministry noted that the dramatic drop comes after national lockdowns and factory shutdowns in developed countries including Europe in mid-March.
Despite the bad export conditions, including falling global oil prices, exports of bio-tech products such as COVID-19 test kits went up 29 percent.
Computer shipments also jumped by almost 100 percent as people across the globe are working from home and taking online classes.
Vowing to closely monitor the country's trade trends,...Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said on Friday that the government will prepare a new growth engine for life after the COVID-19 crisis and lead the way to the normalization of the global economy.
"Analysts warn that export figures for May are on track to be worse than this month because the impact of the coronavirus on importing countries hasn’t really been reflected in April’s figures. But the length of the downturn in exports will depend on when this pandemic ends.
Kim Dami, Arirang News."