Semiconductor export volume and production increase in Korea

South Korea's exports fell for the 11th consecutive month this October amid slowing global trade and the on-going U.S.-China trade spat.
But the production and export volume of semiconductors has been going up and demand for chips is expected to rise.
Kim Hyesung reports.
Data shows semiconductor exports, which account for about a fifth of South Korea's total exports, are likely to go up in 2020.
According to the trade ministry on Monday, semiconductor export volume went up 16 percent on-year to more than 25-hundred tons last month.
Between January and October, chip export volume was up 5 percent on-year, and it has increased by double digits on-year since July.
Semiconductor production also increased.
Data shows chip production in the third quarter went up 8 percent on-year.
But the value of chip exports plunged 26 percent on-year to around 79 billion U.S. dollars in the months through October due to a sharp fall in memory chip prices like DRAM and NAND flash on oversupply.
But with memory chip prices having almost bottomed out, experts say value of chip exports is expected to recover next year.
"The memory chip industry is cyclical with a two-to-four year of cycle of ups and downs depending on supply and demand. And this cycle is shortening on technological advances. We saw a chip boom in 2016 and a downturn in the latter half of 2018. Companies like Micron Technology and Samsung Electronics have lowered their inventories, and demand for chips is set to pick up."
Global demand for chips is expected to increase on demand from data centers and the wider adoption of 5G technology in driverless cars, AI and IoT.
Global research institutes estimate demand for memory chips to go up by between 5-point-five and 17 percent on-year in 2020.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.