Korea's exports fell sharply in April as the COVID-19 pandemic depressed economic activities of major countries.
According to the Korea Customs Service, exports fell by $7.99 billion or 26.9 percent on-year to $21.7 billion in the first 20 days of this month. In April, the impact of COVID-19 has been affecting exports in earnest.
By item, most of the major export items, including semiconductors (-14.9 percent), passenger cars (-28.5 percent), petroleum products (-53.5 percent), wireless communication devices (-30.7 percent) and auto parts (-49.8 percent), were sluggish.
By export partner, exports to major countries such as China (-17 percent), the U.S. (-17.5 percent), the European Union (-32.6 percent), Vietnam (-39.5 percent), Japan (-20 percent), Hong Kong (-27 percent) and the Middle East (-10.3 percent) dwindled.
Imports during the same period amounted to $25.184 billion, down $5.75 billion or 18.6 percent from the same period last year.
Daily average exports, which reflected the number of working days in April, fell 18.6 percent compared to the same period last year. In addition, the country posted a trade deficit of about $3.45 billion during the first 20 days of the month.
Experts said, "Korea's exports of intermediate goods have been hit harder than expected in April. With the temporary suspension of major economies' economic activities, we will see a double-digit decrease until the second quarter."
Meanwhile, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a "COVID-19 Response Industry Countermeasures Meeting" on April 21 jointly with four industry associations -- semiconductors, displays, electronic information and communications and batteries. It earlier held a meeting with the automotive, steel and other device industries on April 16.
Experts in the semiconductor and display industries predicted that if COVID-19 ends in the second quarter, demand, which had been suppressed, will explode in the second half.
The battery industry is also expected to see a steady increase in demand for secondary batteries due to the spread of electric vehicles, while the home appliance industry is expected to see sales increase as health appliances become essential appliances after COVID-19.
"If demand for IT devices surge in the second half of the year, as it has seen since the epidemic in the past, the recovery of the semiconductor industry could gain further momentum," they said. "If the COVID-19 in the U.S. and Europe are eased to some extent within the second quarter, there will be little impact from COVID-19 in the semiconductor industry this year."
In the display sector, supply disruptions in the short term and weak demand in the long term are inevitable.
However, as LCD production is gradually normalized from the second quarter, if the COVID-19 situation around the world ends early, there will be a strong demand rebound for IT devices.
Battery and home appliance sectors offered positive outlooks. Given the growing electric vehicle market in COVID-19 as well, prospects for the secondary battery market, a key component, are also bright.
In addition, the COVID-19 incident is expected to raise interest in health and hygiene, making health home appliances a must-have home appliance in the future. The spread of non-face-to-face trends is expected to accelerate commercialization of robots.
