Trade Surplus Achieved in Pharmaceutical Products with the US and Germany in Q1

[NEWSMP} In the first quarter of this year, Korea achieved a trade surplus in pharmaceutical products with the United States and Germany.

Traditionally, the United States and Germany have been Korea’s top two trading partners in pharmaceutical products and have recorded large trade deficits.

However, recent contract manufacturing and biosimilar exports have significantly reduced the trade deficit in pharmaceutical products with these two countries, finally succeeding in turning it into a surplus in the first quarter.

According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of pharmaceutical products (H.S Code 30) have maintained double-digit growth rates for three consecutive months this year, with cumulative exports in the first quarter surging 24.5% compared to the same period last year.

In contrast, imports of pharmaceutical products have declined for five consecutive months since November last year, reaching $2.15697 billion in the first quarter, down 9.7% year-on-year.

As a result, the trade balance in pharmaceutical products recorded surpluses of $30.71 million and $78.90 million in January and February, respectively. Despite a deficit of $19.73 million in March, the cumulative surplus for the first quarter reached $89.88 million.

Among these, exports to the United States increased by $33.04 million year-on-year to $413.26 million in the first quarter, surpassing the $400 million mark.

In addition, exports to Germany more than tripled to $399.85 million, approaching the $400 million mark.

Exports to Hungary also more than doubled to $248.43 million, and exports to the Netherlands nearly doubled to $202.96 million, exceeding $200 million.

Exports to Türkiye decreased slightly but remained above $100 million at $102.84 million. Additionally, exports to Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil each exceeded $50 million.

However, exports to Japan almost halved, dropping to $57.05 million from $112.57 million in the first quarter last year. Exports to Italy and the United Kingdom also fell by more than $30 million each.

In terms of imports, the United States and Germany remained the first and second largest sources, but the amounts decreased to $383.92 million and $319.35 million respectively, down $33.62 million and $66.32 million from a year earlier.

Imports from Ireland also shrank by $44.72 million over the same period, from 221.23 million to $176.51 million.

On the other hand, imports from Denmark nearly tripled from $51.83 million to $147.31 million, surpassing the $100 million mark.

Imports from Switzerland and France also exceeded $100 million but decreased by $12.91 million and $40.21 million, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Imports from Japan, Türkiye, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, China, Spain, and Puerto Rico all exceeded $50 million, but only imports from Japan increased slightly, while imports from all other countries decreased.

Meanwhile, as exports to Hungary more than doubled, the trade surplus with Hungary expanded by $130.07 million year-on-year to $245.64 million, the only surplus to exceed $200 million.

The trade surplus with the Netherlands also increased significantly from $4.46 million to $114.91 million. The trade balance with Germany shifted from a deficit of $262.22 million to a surplus of $80.50 million.

Similarly, a surplus of $70.11 million was achieved with Switzerland, successfully turning the trade balance into a surplus. Exports to Brazil and Thailand also slightly increased year-on-year.

In addition, a surplus of $29.34 million was achieved with the United States. In the first quarter of last year, the trade deficit with the United States had narrowed to $37.33 million.

Korea also posted surpluses of over $10 million with Vietnam, the Philippines, Portugal, Colombia, Hong Kong, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, including a successful shift to surplus with Portugal.

With the successful shift to a trade surplus with Germany, which had recorded the largest deficit in pharmaceutical products trade in the first quarter of last year, Ireland has now become Korea’s largest deficit country for pharmaceutical products.

However, the trade deficit with Ireland narrowed by $47.07 million year-on-year to $173.13 million in the first quarter.

In contrast, the trade deficit with Denmark surged from $51.49 million to $146.95 million, the second largest deficit after Ireland.

The deficit with France, which reached $148.41 million last year, was also reduced to $91.80 million as a result of improved trade performance.

Deficits of more than $50 million were also recorded with Singapore, Spain, and Puerto Rico, though these deficits were smaller than in the same period last year.

Conversely, Korea moved from surpluses of $14.51 million and $32.66 million with Japan and Belgium, respectively, in the first quarter of last year to deficits of $42.72 million and $24.56 million in the first quarter of this year.