South Korea’s exports in July surged 29.6 per cent to $55.4 billion year-on-year, a record monthly figure since the nation began compiling the data in 1956, according to the Ministry of Trade, industry and Energy on August 1.

In the first seven months of this year, Korea’s accumulated exports were worth $358.7 billion, setting another record. Also, this is the first time in 10 years that the country saw double digit growths for four consecutive months in 10 years – 41.2 per cent in April, 45.6 per cent in May, 39.7 per cent June and 29.6 per cent in July.

“For two straight months from June to July, exports of the nation’s 15 core products all increased, 13 of them witnessing double-digit growths. Also, for four consecutive months, Korea’s exports grew in all nine major markets,” a ministry official said.

Private and public experts, including those at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade and the Bank of Korea, estimate the nation’s exports this year in the $601.7-610.5 billion range, while its trade volume is projected at $1.15-1.19 trillion.

The record performance was propelled by robust exports in both conventional and new sectors.

Overseas sales of chips, fuelled by global server demands, spiked 39.6 per cent to reach $11 billion in July year-on-year, surpassing $10.4 billion in July 2018 when the world was enjoying a chip “super cycle”.

In January, RAMeXchange, a research division of market tracker TrendForce, set the average contract price of an 8-gigabyte DRAM at $3.25, $3.50 and $3.75 in the second, third and fourth quarters this year, respectively. In June, RAMeXchange raised the figures to $3.80, $4.09 and $4.23. The price hike is expected to give a further boost to Korea’s chip industry.

Thanks to surging demand in packaging and quarantine products, exports of petrochemical products jumped 59.5 per cent to $4.7 billion, while those of automobiles surged 12.3 per cent to $4.1 billion buoyed by the global demand for eco-friendly vehicles.

Among emerging industries, exports of rechargeable batteries enjoyed a stellar 31.3 per cent growth to $790 million.

In the same vein, South Korea marked its first trade surplus in medicines last year, backed by gains in drug exports, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on August 1.

According to food ministry data, the country posted a surplus of 1.39 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in pharmaceutical trade in 2020, which grew 62.5 per cent from a year earlier.

The export of drugs jumped 92.3 per cent to 7.93 trillion won, taking up 79.6 per cent of all outbound shipments, the ministry explained.

It was the first time the country saw a trade surplus in the sector since the government began compiling pharmaceutical production and trade data in 1998.

The top three export items were all biopharmaceuticals from Celltrion, a local biosimilar drug maker.

Ranked number one is Celltrion’s infliximab biosimilar Remsima (100 mg), which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, recording 543.5 billion won in outbound shipments.

It was followed by breast cancer treatment biosimilar Herzuma and blood cancer treatment Truxima, which recorded 98.6 billion won and 75.3 billion won, respectively.

The food ministry said the country’s biopharmaceutical output jumped 54.9 per cent year-on-year to record 3.93 trillion won in 2020. The biopharmaceutical industry covers medical products that are made with materials originating from organisms.

Germany was the biggest importer of Korean pharmaceutical products, accounting for $1.85 billion, followed by the US ($780 million) and Turkey ($589 million).

Korea imported the largest volume of drugs from the US ($977 million), then from Germany ($896 million) and China ($887 million).

By company, Celltrion was the number-one exporting firm last year, logging 1.47 trillion won in overseas shipments and witnessing a whopping 149.2 per cent year-on-year growth. Hanmi Pharmaceutical came second in the list with 1.01 trillion won.

Separately, exports of quasi-drugs – which the government defines as health-related products but are not medicines – reached 9.96 trillion won in 2020, up 62.5 per cent from the year earlier.

Face mask exports recorded 339.9 billion won, taking 74.5 per cent of quasi-drug exports, with the item in high demand globally amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK