4월 1~20일 수출 26.9%↓…일평균 16.8%↓ 반도체 14.9%↓<br /><br />In other news...<br />South Korea's exports are in freefall due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has paralyzed world trade.<br />In the latest grim virus-related economic data to emerge, the country's exports in the first 20 days of April tumbled nearly 27 percent compared to the same period last year.<br />Kim Jae-hee reports.<br />South Korea's exports fell sharply from a year earlier in the first twenty days of April due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.<br />According to data released by the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday,... the country's outbound shipments from April 1st to April 20th came to some 21-point-7 billion U.S. dollars,... down a whopping 26-point-9 percent from the same period a year earlier.<br />The daily average exports during this period also slipped 16-point-8 percent on-year.<br />The decline was attributed to the coronavirus pandemic,... which has paralyzed trade and disrupted production all across the globe,... with numerous countries having shut down their borders.<br />By segment, overseas sales of semiconductors, South Korea's key export item,... fell 14-point-9 percent on-year over the 20-day period.<br />Exports of automobiles also declined 28-point-5 percent from a year earlier.<br />Auto parts fared even worse,... sinking 49-point-8 percent,... and exports of petrochemical goods tumbled 53-point-5 percent.<br />By destination country, exports to China dropped 17 percent on-year,... and shipments to the U.S. also shrank 17-and-a-half percent.<br />Exports to Japan were down 20 percent,... and those to the EU were even worse,... down 32-point-6 percent on-year.<br />The same data also shows that in the first 20 days of April, imports fell 18-point-6 percent on-year to near 25-point-2 billion dollars.<br />Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.<br />
