When looking at the export growth rate (%) by item in the first half of the year, in the IT sector, computers (9.6), semiconductors (6.1), wireless communication devices (1.5), and flat panel displays (10.8) increased.

In the first half of the year, both exports and imports were sluggish due to negative external conditions, such as falling oil prices, the weakening of the yen and euro, and a slowdown in global trade and Chinese import demand.

In the outlook for the second half of the year, annual semiconductor exports are expected to continue a steady upward trend driven by the expansion of new application markets, such as cloud services and IoT.

Computers are expected to drive export growth as the laptop SSD market records rapid growth. For reference, the share of the laptop SSD market is projected to increase from 30% this year to 50% in 2017. Due to the expansion of big data and cloud infrastructure, SSD export unit prices are also on an upward trend.

In the wireless communication device market, exports are expected to increase due to the boom in new products, such as the launch of the LG G4 in 180 countries and the full-scale export of the Galaxy S6 to Japan, but uncertainties also persist, such as new Apple products and intensifying competition with Chinese companies.

Exports in the home appliance sector are expected to decrease due to the expansion of overseas production centered on Vietnam and falling export unit prices for products such as TVs.

For flat panel displays, while OLED panel exports are expected to increase due to rising sales of OLED-equipped smartphones and increased demand for OLED TVs driven by price reductions, the decline in LCD panel exports is projected to continue due to falling unit prices resulting from an oversupply of large LCDs.