Rising memory prices pushed semiconductor exports above $40 billion for a second straight month. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Aug. 1 that July semiconductor exports rose 178.8% from the same month a year earlier to $41.01 billion. It was the second-highest monthly total on record, following $44.8 billion in June. Total exports that month rose 62.8% to $98.89 billion, and the trade balance posted a $30.32 billion surplus.

The fixed price of DDR5 16-gigabit, a fifth-generation DRAM standard designed to raise data transfer speeds, rose to $45 in July from $40 in June. NAND flash 128-gigabit also climbed to $30.1 from $28.8. DDR5 was priced at $31 in March, meaning it jumped 45% in four months. The uptrend held despite variables such as the possibility that Apple could use China-made memory and China’s announcement of a new artificial intelligence model.

As of July 1 to 25, semiconductor exports to China rose 252% to $11.6 billion. Exports to ASEAN over the same period rose 180% to $8.0 billion, exports to the United States rose 188% to $2.6 billion, and exports to the European Union rose 272% to $1.0 billion. Semiconductors also contributed as total exports to China exceeded $20.0 billion for a second straight month and exports to ASEAN and the EU set all-time highs for the period at $18.8 billion and $9.38 billion, respectively.

Items linked to semiconductors also moved higher. Computer exports rose 404% to $4.79 billion. That reflected an increase in exports of enterprise solid-state drives as big tech companies continued investing in AI infrastructure. Imports of semiconductor equipment also rose 55.4% to $2.54 billion. Exports increased in 19 of 20 key items, and the export growth rate excluding semiconductors was tallied at 26%.

Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan (김정관) said, "Despite the start of the half-year, July exports recorded a high performance in the $90 billion range." Kim said, "New tariff measures under U.S. Trade Act Section 301, stronger protectionism by major countries and uncertainty in the Middle East situation are expected to make export conditions challenging going forward," adding, "The government plans to closely check the situation by major items and markets and mobilise all available policy tools so our companies can respond in a timely manner to changes in the trade environment such as tariff and non-tariff barriers."