The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on May 6 released first-quarter trade statistics saying exports rose 37.8% to USD 219.9 billion. Shown is Singamman Terminal at Busan North Port. (Busan Port Authority)

By Xu Aiying

Exports in the first quarter set a record for the period, allowing Korea to surpass Japan and Italy as the world's No. 5 export power.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources in Seoul on May 6 said this in releasing import and export data for the quarter.

Exports in the first three months of the year reached USD 219.9 billion, up 37.8% year on year, and imports increased 10.9% to USD 169.4 billion. This resulted in a trade surplus of USD 50.4 billion, up from USD 43.7 billion in the same quarter last year.

By item, semiconductors stood out. Strong memory prices and rising investment in artificial intelligence servers helped exports skyrocket 139% to USD 78.5 billion.

In the automotive sector, truck exports jumped 63.9% to USD 710 million, but the overall industry saw overseas shipments dip 0.3% to USD 17.2 billion as demand for passenger cars and vans fell.

Biohealth exports rose 9.6% to USD 4.2 billion, with those of medical devices up 5.5% to USD 1.47 billion. Backing such growth were pharmaceuticals, whose exports expanded 11.9% to USD 2.73 billion thanks to rising demand for biosimilars in leading markets.

Exports of consumer goods also maintained an upward trajectory thanks to the spread of Hallyu (Korean Wave). Those of cosmetics grew 21.5% to USD 3.13 billion thanks to higher global preference for Korean beauty items.

Agricultural, fishery and food products saw overseas sales of USD 3.11 billion, up 7.4%, thanks to higher recognition of domestic cuisine.

The popularity of domestic cultural content fueled balanced growth of household goods exports to USD 2.1 billion, up 3.9%, and those of stationery and toys to USD 780 million, up 16.6%.

Based on merchandise export data from the World Trade Organization, Korea ranked fifth globally in exports from January to February after China, the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands in that order. Korea showed the highest growth among the top seven exporters, with Japan sixth and Italy seventh.

Korea is also expected to surpass Japan in first-quarter exports after March data is included.

xuaiy@korea.kr