Seoul, Aug 13 (IANS) South Korea’s exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products jumped 14.5 percent from a year earlier in July on record-high performance of chips, data showed on Wednesday.

Outbound shipments of ICT products reached US$22.19 billion last month, compared with $19.38 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. It marks the highest export volume for any July.

Imports gained 9.8 percent on-year to $13.32 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $8.87 billion in the sector, reports Yonhap news agency.

The science ministry attributed the sharp increase in exports to record shipments of semiconductors, which spiked 31.2 percent on-year to $14.72 billion on higher memory chip prices amid growing investments in artificial intelligence servers by global companies.

Exports of display products, on the other hand, slipped 8.9 percent to $1.76 billion amid an industry-wide downturn.

Shipments of mobile devices also slumped 21.7 percent to $960 million and those of computers and accessories decreased 17.1 percent to $1.09 billion.

By destination, exports to the United States jumped 11.9 percent to $2.71 billion, led mostly by semiconductors and mobile devices, extending their on-year gains to 21 consecutive months.

Shipments to China, meanwhile, shed 5.6 percent to $7.47 billion due to weaker demand for chips, displays and mobile devices.

Exports to the European Union and Japan gained 18 percent and 23.9 percent, respectively, the data showed.

Earlier, South Korea’s exports dropped 4.3 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of this month, due in part to sluggish shipments to the United States on an escalating tariff scheme.

Outbound shipments reached US$14.7 billion in the Aug. 1-10 period, compared with $15.4 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

—IANS

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