SEOUL, May 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of information and communications technology (ICT) products rose for the third consecutive month in April thanks to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors and mobile devices, government data showed Wednesday.
The ICT products shipment jumped 10.8 percent from a year earlier to 18.92 billion U.S. dollars in April after growing 0.2 percent in February and 9.3 percent in March, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Chip export spiked 17.2 percent to 11.68 billion dollars due to robust demand for high-end products such as double data rate 5 and high bandwidth memory products used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets.
Display panel shipment declined 7.6 percent to 1.52 billion dollars, but mobile phone export advanced 28.6 percent to 1.19 billion dollars.
Shipment for computers and peripherals dipped 11.9 percent to 800 million dollars, but communications equipment export gained 3.5 percent to 200 million dollars.
The ICT products export to the United States edged up 0.5 percent in April from a year earlier, much lower than an increase of 19.4 percent in March following U.S. tariffs imposition.
Shipment to Vietnam, the European Union and India expanded in double digits.
Import for ICT products reduced 2.4 percent over the year to 11.30 billion dollars in April, sending trade surplus in the ICT industry to 7.61 billion dollars.
Import for computers gained ground last month, but that for display panels and communications equipment fell in double digits. ■
