Exports by 10 top firms jumps in Q2 to claim 55.3% of all outbound shipments

The increase was driven by orders for technology products, including chips, as total exports soared 57.3 percent on year.

Containers are stacked at a port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on July 24.

The proportion of Korea's top 10 exporters in the country's total outbound shipments in the second quarter expanded sharply from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, driven by the strong performance of technology products including semiconductors.

Outbound shipments by the 10 businesses accounted for 55.3 percent of total exports in the April-to-June period, compared with 38.3 percent a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Over the cited period, the share accounted for by the country's top 100 exporters rose from 66.3 percent to 76.3 percent.

Total exports shot up 57.3 percent to $275.5 billion in the second quarter from the previous year.

The Data Ministry added that exports by conglomerates shot up 81.8 percent to $206 billion, reflecting the country's heavy reliance on big companies.

Exports by medium-sized businesses moved up 10.9 percent to $35.9 billion, with those by smaller enterprises adding 13.1 percent to $32.7 billion.

By industry, exports in the mining and manufacturing sector jumped 64.9 percent to $247.5 billion, led by strong shipments from the electronics industry, including chips.

The report showed exports of the electronics industry more than doubled to $160 billion, taking up 58 percent of the total exports.

Exports by the wholesale and retail sector moved up 14.3 percent to $21 billion, the findings also showed.


Yonhap