Last month, exports recorded the highest performance for August in history.
According to the '2025 August Export and Import Trends' report released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, last month's exports amounted to $58.4 billion, a 1.3% increase compared to the same month last year. Imports recorded $51.89 billion, a 4% decrease. The trade balance, which is the difference between exports and imports, recorded a surplus of $65.1 billion.
August exports increased by 1.3%, despite one less working day compared to the same month last year. Exports continued to show positive growth for three consecutive months from June to August.
By item, exports of three major items—semiconductors, automobiles, and ships—among the 15 key export products increased.
Exports of semiconductors recorded $15.1 billion, up 27.1% compared to the same month last year. This surpassed the all-time high achieved in June, two months ago. The Ministry explained the favorable semiconductor export trend, noting that "steady demand for servers continues and the fixed prices of memory are also maintaining a good trend."
According to the Ministry, the semiconductor industry currently sees sustained excess demand for both DDR and NAND, leading to high prices. The price of DDR4 8GB DRAM rose from $3.9 in July to $5.7 in August. This represents an increase of 178% compared to the same month last year.
The demand for high value-added memory semiconductors such as DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) also remains strong.
Automobile exports recorded a historic high of $5.5 billion (+8.6%) in August, amid increases in exports of eco-friendly vehicles such as pure electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, as well as a rise in used car exports.
Especially, while exports of pure electric vehicles to the U.S. decreased due to increased local production, exports to the EU significantly expanded, showing a double-digit growth rate.
The export of ships also increased by 11.8% to $3.14 billion, continuing the delivery of vessels ordered at high prices in 2022-2023.
In addition to the 15 key items, exports of agricultural and fishery products ($960 million, +3.2%), cosmetics ($870 million, +5.1%), and electric equipment ($1.29 billion, +5.6%) recorded their highest performances for August.
In contrast, exports of petroleum products ($4.17 billion, -4.7%) and petrochemicals ($3.38 billion, -18.7%) decreased due to falling oil prices and global oversupply, leading to a decline in export prices.
By region, exports to ASEAN, the Middle East, and CIS increased.
Exports to ASEAN recorded a historic high of $10.89 billion (+11.9%) thanks to strong performances in semiconductors and ships, continuing an increasing trend for three consecutive months. Exports to the Middle East turned positive for the first time in a month, growing 1.0% to $1.4 billion.
Exports to CIS increased by 9.2% to $1.12 billion, marking six consecutive months of growth. Exports to Taiwan also reached a historic high of $4.38 billion (+39.3%) thanks to the robust semiconductor market.
In contrast, exports to the U.S. recorded $8.74 billion, a decrease of 12%. Key export items such as automobiles, general machinery, and steel declined.
Exports to China recorded $11.01 billion, a decrease of 2.9%. While most items saw a decline, the major export item, semiconductors, increased, leading to an assessment of relatively strong performance.
August imports recorded $51.89 billion, a 4.0% decrease. Energy imports totaled $11.02 billion, down 12.2%. Non-energy imports recorded $40.86 billion, a 1.5% decrease.
The trade balance for August was $6.51 billion, an increase of $2.93 billion compared to the same month last year. The cumulative surplus from January to August was $40.97 billion, an increase of $10.8 billion compared to the same period last year.
Kim Jeong-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, noted that "exports have shown strength centered on the two major export items, semiconductors and automobiles, continuing a positive trend for three consecutive months," and added, "Despite challenging external conditions such as the U.S. tariff policy, the steadfast competitiveness of our corporations and their dedication to exports have resulted in these achievements."