SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of information and communications technology (ICT) products fell in double digits last month on weak demand and lower product price, a government report showed Monday.
The ICT export declined 24.5 percent over the year to 15.23 billion U.S. dollars in August, according to the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The import edged down 1.9 percent to 8.82 billion U.S. dollars last month, sending the trade surplus in the ICT sector to 6.41 billion U.S. dollars. It almost quadrupled 1.72 billion U.S. dollars of trade surplus in all industries in the month.
The export fall came as demand weakened for ICT products amid the global economic slump, adding to the concern about the continued slide in product price.
Semiconductor export plunged 30.5 percent from a year earlier to 8.09 billion U.S. dollars in August on lower memory chip price and weak demand for system chips.
Display panel shipment diminished 26.7 percent to 2.18 billion U.S. dollars on lower LCD panel price and soft demand for OLED panels.
Mobile phone shipment fell 18.2 percent to 1.06 billion U.S. dollars on weak global demand and the increased production in overseas factories.
The ICT export to China tumbled 32.6 percent to 7.35 billion U.S. dollars in the cited period on weak demand for chips and display panels, with those to the United States and the European Union shrinking in double figures.
The ICT shipments to Vietnam and Japan inched up 1.1 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
