The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on April 1 said in a report that exports last month hit USD 58.28 billion, up 3.1% up from February. Shown is Busan New Port. (Busan Port Authority's official Facebook page)

By Gil Kyuyoung

Exports have seen growth for the second consecutive month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on April 1 released a report on March export and import trends saying export shipments that month reached USD 58.28 billion, up 3.1% from February.

Of 15 leading export items, seven showed growth in sales abroad. Semiconductors saw their exports rise 11.9% year on year to USD 13.1 billion thanks to high-value memory chips such as high bandwidth memory and double data rate 5.

Cars, one of the country's top two items in the category, saw exports of USD 6.2 billion, up 1.2% year on year due to an increase in demand for hybrids and gas-powered vehicles.

Vessel exports jumped 51.6% to USD 3.2 billion, their highest value since December 2023.

Imports rose 2.3% to USD 53.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 4.98 billion thanks to export growth.

"Exports of all information technology items in March finished in the black for the first time in eight months, leading to export growth and a trade surplus for the second consecutive month," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Dukgeun said. "All our resources will go toward resolving the uncertainty faced by the export industry."

gilkyuyoung@korea.kr