Electrical equipment exports hit an all-time monthly high with a 74% surge; cosmetics and bio-health also record their highest-ever October figures.
Eighteen of the top 20 key export categories post increases, though growth drivers vary from surging demand to rising unit prices.
South Korea’s exports outside of semiconductors rose 34% year-on-year last month, underscoring a broadening recovery in overseas shipments. While electrical equipment set a new monthly export record, cosmetics and bio-health both achieved their highest-ever performances for the month of October.
According to the "October 2026 Import and Export Trends" released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on the 1st, total exports surged 93.7% to $115.28 billion. Driven by a dramatic 259.4% spike in semiconductor shipments, 18 out of South Korea's 20 core export categories recorded year-on-year gains.
Propelled by mounting demand for transformers and cables destined for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, electrical equipment exports reached $1.99 billion. This represents a 74.0% increase from the same period last year, marking an all-time monthly high.
The ripple effects of AI infrastructure spending also spilled over into computers. Computer exports skyrocketed 496.6% to $5.85 billion. MOTIE attributed this leap to expanded server infrastructure investment and growing demand for enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSDs).
Cosmetics exports saw simultaneous growth across the U.S., Chinese, and European Union markets, pushing total cosmetic shipments up 57.5% year-on-year to $1.44 billion.
Bio-health exports grew 30.2% to $1.53 billion. The ministry cited export market diversification and increased shipment volumes stemming from multi-year contract manufacturing organization (CMO) agreements as key growth drivers.
A closer look at individual sectors, however, reveals that factors other than pure demand also played a role. Automobile exports climbed 18.1% to $6.55 billion, setting a record for any October. Alongside strong sales of hybrid vehicles, the figures were boosted by an increase in working days due to a shift in the Chuseok holiday from October last year to September this year.
Meanwhile, petroleum products and petrochemicals saw their actual export volumes decline by 7.5% and 6.8%, respectively. Nevertheless, export values rose as international crude prices remained elevated due to Middle East supply anxieties, driving up unit prices. Exports of petroleum products jumped 80.0% to $6.92 billion, while petrochemicals rose 27.5% to $4.00 billion.
