In the first half of this year, exports from small and medium-sized enterprises amounted to $56.7 billion (approximately 78.87 trillion won), marking a 3% increase compared to the same period last year.
The Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups announced the '2025 First Half Export Trends of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises' on the 4th. Following a shift to an increasing trend in small and medium-sized enterprise exports in the fourth quarter of 2023 (+1.6%), the positive trend continued until the second quarter of 2025, resulting in seven consecutive quarters of export surpluses. The number of exporting small and medium-sized enterprises reached 78,655, an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period last year, setting a record for the highest number of exporting small and medium-sized enterprises in a first half.
Cosmetics, the top export item for small and medium-sized enterprises ($3.94 billion), increased by 19.7% compared to the same period last year, surpassing the record high for first-half exports set in 2024 ($3.29 billion). The increase in awareness of K-beauty is analyzed to have driven demand not only in traditional key markets such as the United States and China but also in emerging markets such as UAE (+63.6%) and Poland (+160.5%).
Automobiles ($3.92 billion, +73.7%) have seen a surge in demand for used cars due to high recognition and price competitiveness in regions such as the Middle East, with the UAE (+97.7%) also experiencing a significant increase in used car exports as demand for rental cars grows. However, other machinery ($1.07 billion, -31.2%) saw a decrease in export volume compared to the same period last year due to a decline in equipment demand caused by the electric vehicle chasm.
The United States ($9.33 billion, +1.1%), the top country for small and medium-sized enterprise exports, recorded the highest first-half export amount historically, driven by continued growth in key export items such as cosmetics (+61.5%) and power equipment (+59.3%). However, the positive export trend to the U.S. this half is believed to be influenced by an intention to secure stock in advance due to anticipated increases in reciprocal tariffs and other tariffs.
In the case of items subject to U.S. tariffs, the export volume changes varied by item, with steel decreasing (-16.3%), aluminum slightly decreasing (-3.4%), and automotive parts increasing (+10.3%).
Taiwan ($1.58 billion, +23.3%) benefited from a favorable global semiconductor market, with strong performances in semiconductor manufacturing equipment (+82.5%), semiconductors (+25.5%), and precision chemical materials (+173.7%), with all of the top 10 items exported to Taiwan showing increases.
Vietnam ($5.23 billion, -5%) experienced a decline in 9 out of the top 10 export items, including semiconductors (-3.6%), plastic products (-11.2%), and synthetic resins (-7.5%), sustaining a downward trend for the second consecutive quarter.
In the first half of 2025, online exports increased, centered around cosmetics ($20.9 million, +13.7%), with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 77.1% of total online export amounts, demonstrating their leading role in online exports.
Lee Soon-bae, the Director of Global Growth Policy at the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups, noted, "K-beauty is currently driving the overall increase in small and medium-sized enterprise exports, and we will uncover and grow other promising items based on K-software, such as fashion and food." He added, "In the case of online exports, the scale is increasing and the expense-to-effect ratio is good, making it suitable for beginner exporters; thus, we plan to encourage beginner exporters to utilize online exports first when preparing for exports."