SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The export volume of semiconductors has broken the US$60 billion milestone for the first time. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on December 18 that the amount of semiconductor exports surpassed the $60 billion level this year. For the 11-month period until November this year, exports of semiconductors including memory chips increased 9.5 percent from the previous year.
The $60 billion is almost equivalent to the total volume of exports made by Portugal who sold $62.9 billion worth of goods and services this year. This is also equivalent to 20 million 300-mm wafers, which can cover the whole runway of Incheon International Airport (690,000 square meters) twice over.
The 2015 outlook for the semiconductor market is also bullish. The industry ministry predicted that the total semiconductor exports of Korean chip makers in 2015 would be $64.2 billion, up 4.4 percent from this year’s $61.5 billion.
Image Credit: Samsung Electronics & SK Hynix / photonews@koreabizwire.com
