- Korea also exported larger number of electronics to Japan and Vietnam in March 2020
- Display exports by Korea have been on a downfall from last 19 months
Korea, in March 2020, exported semiconductors worth US$8.87 billion. These figures represent a downfall of 2.7 per cent, when compared to semiconductor exports in March 2019.
A recent report by a Korea-based news portal, also pointed that the country electronics and electronics components exports to US, Japan and Vietnam increased, while those to China and the European Union decreased. This news portal cited data collected from Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Korea) as the source of information.
Korea’s display exports falling from September 2018
Display exports made by Korea have been on a downfall since September 2018. These exports accounted for US$1.64 billion worth business in March 2020. When compared to figures from March 2019, the amount is down by approximately 4.4 per cent.
While Coronavirus outbreak could be one of the reasons behind the downfall, increasing utilization of quantum dot powered display panels over TFT LCD panels could also be a reason. Brands making smartphones and smart TVs have also starting adopting to display panels powered by technologies ranging from OLED, Qled to Amoled variants.
Exports rose in DRAM and NAND
The country’s exports in memory-segment of semiconductors rose in Februray. However, due to the widespread of coronavirus, these fell down again in March 2020.
Korea’s memory semiconductor exports, as per the report, hit only US$5.66 billion, down 13.5 percent from the previous year. It is to be noted here that Gartner has also forecast memory semiconductor category to rise in 2020. However, the same report by Gartner, has also forecast a possible downfall in the non-memory semiconductor categories.
“NAND flash supply will remain historically low in 2020 due to fab delays and technology transitions, but the demand will diminish later in 2020. Initial price increases of 15.7 per cent during the first half of 2020 will reverse to a 9.4% decline during the second half of the year. However, average pricing levels will still enable NAND flash revenue to achieve growth this year,” Richard Gordon, research practice vice president at Gartner, had mentioned in the report.
Mobile phones exports by Korea also increased by 11.3 per cent. The news portal cited exports of Samsung’s foldable smartphones as the reason behind the increase.
