South Korea Leads China’s Import Market for Six Straight Months, Nears First-Ever $1 Trillion in Exports

[Financial News] South Korea's exports have continued to enjoy an exceptional boom, with the country ranking first in China's import market for six consecutive months.
As South Korea expands its presence in major markets such as China and the United States, expectations are growing that it will achieve $1 trillion in annual exports for the first time ever as early as around the 20th of this month.
According to the Korea International Trade Association's overseas trade statistics on the 14th, South Korea ranked second in China's import market from January to March this year, behind Taiwan, but moved into first place in April and held on to the top spot through September for six consecutive months. From January to September this year, the value of goods China imported from South Korea rose 75.1% year on year to $236.2 billion, giving South Korea the largest share of China's import market, at 9.8%. Based on the cumulative January-September figures, this was the first time in seven years, since 2019, that South Korea had regained its position as China's largest import source.
Semiconductors drove this export surge. Of South Korea's $340.3 billion in semiconductor exports from January to September this year, $105.4 billion went to China. That was an increase of 221.5%% from the same period last year. Last month, semiconductor exports to China also rose to $14.8 billion, up 331.0% year on year, marking the ninth consecutive month of triple-digit growth. Exports of computers (264%), general machinery (26%) and cosmetics (23%) also increased, bringing total exports to China last month to $26.98 billion, up 133.6%.
South Korean products also strengthened their position in the U.S. import market. From January to September this year, U.S. imports of South Korean products totaled $129.2 billion, up 35.2% from the same period last year. South Korea consequently became the United States' sixth-largest import source, after Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, China and Vietnam. That was a rise of three places from ninth over the same period last year. With semiconductor exports to the United States posting triple-digit growth every month, total exports to the country surged 185.8% last month to $24.9 billion.
Buoyed by strong exports, the cumulative trade surplus through October this year reached $294.9 billion, far exceeding the previous annual record of $95.2 billion, set in 2017. The trade balance with China, which had been in deficit since 2023, swung to a $43.3 billion surplus. The trade surplus with the United States surpassed $100 billion for the first time ever, reaching a cumulative $102.3 billion.
Cumulative exports through the 10th of this month stood at $963.7 billion, leaving just $36.3 billion to reach $1 trillion. At the current pace, with average daily exports of $4.46 billion, South Korea is expected to break the $1 trillion mark in annual exports around the 19th or 20th.

[email protected] Jeon Min-kyung Reporter