Exports of diagnostic reagents have recovered as the global spread of COVID-19 has intensified worldwide.
According to the Korea Customs Service, the monthly exports of diagnostic reagents (HS3822) in July were $197.52 million, up 44.7% YoY.
During the same period, imports of diagnostic reagents also increased 15.4% YoY to $74.23 million, but the trade surplus expanded sharply (70.8%) to $123.3 million. Both exports and trade balance are a record high for the year.
Exports of diagnostic reagents increased sharply in the second half of last year as the third pandemic started in the U.S. and Europe, surpassing $300 million for the first time in December.
However, as COVID-19 vaccination began worldwide at the end of last year, exports of diagnostic reagents started to decline slightly, falling below $200 million a month this year.
Especially since April, it has remained at the $140 million level for three months and entered a negative growth trend.
The base effect occurred as the exports of diagnostic reagents surged along with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, imports of diagnostic reagents have consistently remained between $70 and $80 million, and the surplus, which exceeded $100 million for eight consecutive months, has fallen below the $100 million mark since February.
Nevertheless, despite the COVID-19 vaccination, the fourth pandemic began again due to the delta variant, resulting in significant growth in both exports and trade balance, and the surplus surpassed the $100 million mark once more.
As a consequence, the cumulative export value of diagnostic reagents for seven months exceeded $1 billion to $1.085 billion, and the growth expanded to 25.5%.
At the same time, imports also rose 26.9% to $522.7 million, surpassing $500 million, but the trade balance jumped 24.4% to $582.82 million.
