Semiconductor exports make up a big portion of South Korea's exports.... but latest figures are showing that the ratio is falling,... slumping to its lowest point in over a year-and-a-half in January.<br />Ko Roon-hee has more. <br />Concerns are growing about South Korea's exports...with the figures dropping for three months on the bounce.<br /><br />This was mainly due to a slump in chip shipments...which accounted for around 20-percent of South Korea's total exports on average in 2018. <br /><br />New figures from the trade ministry and Korea Customs Service paint a grim picture for this year.<br />The percentage of chip exports out of South Korea's overall overseas shipments fell for four consecutive months starting October...and hit a 19-month low in January.<br /><br />South Korea's total exports for the month marked around 46-point-3 billion U.S. dollars...and chip shipments accounted for 16 percent of the total,... the lowest since June 2017. <br /><br />Analysts point to the slower growth of the global semiconductor market...mainly due weak demand and falling prices. <br />Many IT companies have been postponing investment or clearing stocks...as part of a 'wait-and-see' approach for chip prices to go down even further. <br />This led to a fall in prices...and the situation worsened due to the rise in global uncertainties such as the U.S.-China trade spat and low sales of smartphones and PCs. <br />Data by market tracker DRAMeXchange shows... contract prices of server DRAM are expected to fall by more than 20-percent on-quarter in the January-to-March period. <br /><br />Although some say global chip demand is likely to pick up in the 2nd half of 2019...others say falling chip exports could be a warning sign for the nation's economy overall...signaling the need for major export items other than semiconductors.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
