Pioneering New Potential Markets with Competitive Items
South Korea’s exports in July totaled $98.89 billion, which is a significant 62.8% increase compared to the same period last year.
This marks the second-highest monthly figure on record for Korea, following the $102.25 billion recorded in June. The trade balance, calculated by subtracting imports from exports, recorded a surplus of $30.32 billion, marking an increase of $23.81 billion year-on-year. This shows a streak of surpluses exceeding $30 billion for two consecutive months.
As in July, semiconductors were the driving force behind this amazing export performance. Semiconductor exports surged by 178.8% year-on-year to $41.01 billion. This is the second-highest-ever on record, following June ($44.8 billion). It is attributed to the continued rise in memory semiconductor prices, driven by the sustained expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment by global big-tech companies. The fixed price of 16GB DRAM semiconductors climbed from $31.00 in March of this year to $45.00 in July.
Among the top-20 major export items, 19 categories ‒ excluding home appliances ‒ showed positive growth. Automobile exports recorded $6.24 billion, a 7.0% increase, driven by strong sales of eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and a base effect resulting from the automotive industry’s summer vacation schedule shifting from late July to early August.
Ship exports also rose by 46.9% to $3.29 billion, boosted by expanded shipments of high-value-added vessels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. This marks the sixth consecutive month of growth.
The materials and machinery sectors also showed a steady increase. Steel exports ($2.36 billion) rose by 4.4%, driven by demand for the construction of AI data centers and oil pipeline replacements in the United States. Exports of general machinery ($4.53 billion) also increased by 5.9% due to expanded investment in high-tech manufacturing.
While energetically releasing new products, Korean companies are knocking on the doors of global markets with competitive items. In their efforts toward accomplishing their export performance goals for this year, creative moves are being made to discover their own potential buyers and markets.
In particular, Korean companies engaged in the manufacturing of products in the field of oil & gas are continuously coming up with attractive and competitive items:
WOOSUNG VALVE has not only been manufacturing products based on projects such as oil & gas, power plants, desalination, chemical plants, shipbuilding, and offshore ― but also supplying check valves required for various basic industries such as pumps, engines, compressors, boilers, chillers, dryers, and scrubbers.
WFN CO., LTD. specializes in manufacturing customized flanges and forged heat exchanger parts, including tubesheets and baffles. WFN manufactures flanges and forged parts in diverse shapes and sizes that are required in various industries such as oil & gas, offshore, plants, and ships.
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