The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced the '2025 First Quarter SME Export Trends' on the 14th.
◆ Small and medium-sized enterprise export amount and export companies
'SME exports in the first quarter of 2025 were $27.0 billion, up 0.7% year-on-year. The main reasons for the increase in SME exports are analyzed to be the brisk exports of major export products such as cosmetics, automobiles, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and increased demand due to the boom in China's manufacturing industry.
In particular, exports by small and medium-sized enterprises have continued to rebound for five consecutive quarters since turning positive in the first quarter of 2024 (+0.1%) up until the first quarter of this year.
Looking at it by month, exports from small and medium-sized enterprises also decreased in January (△10.4%) due to the decrease in the number of operating days*, but the upward trend continued for two consecutive months in February (+7.1%) and March (+5.2%).
'The number of exporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 1.6% compared to the same period last year (62,118 companies) to 63,135 companies.
◆ Characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprise exports by item and country
<Main export items>
'Cosmetics (USD 1.84 billion, +19.6%) and automobiles (USD 1.74 billion, +67.4%), which ranked first and second in exports by small and medium-sized enterprises in the first quarter of 2025, recorded the highest export amounts ever in the first quarter.
In particular, in the case of cosmetics, not only did the United States, the largest exporting country, record its highest first-quarter performance ever, but export markets are diversifying as eight of the top ten countries for small and medium-sized exporters showed double-digit growth rates.
<Major exporting countries>
'Among the top 10 export destinations for small and medium-sized enterprises in the first quarter of 2025, exports from six countries, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, increased compared to the same period last year, while exports from four countries, including the United States, Vietnam, India, and Mexico, decreased.
In the case of the United States, the largest exporter of small and medium-sized enterprises, exports of cosmetics increased, but exports of other machinery (USD 160 million, △47.4%) and electronic application devices (USD 130 million, △25.6%) decreased due to a slowdown in demand for secondary battery-related equipment following the global electric vehicle chasm.
In addition, as a result of tallying the export amount of small and medium-sized enterprises in the first quarter of 2025 for items subject to the US steel, aluminum and derivatives tariffs that went into effect on March 12, steel products (including derivatives) decreased by 17.8% and aluminum products (including derivatives) decreased by 7.6% compared to the same period last year.
Lee Soon-bae, director of the Global Growth Policy Bureau, said, “Exports from SMEs have been increasing for five consecutive quarters thanks to the strength of exports of major items such as cosmetics,” adding, “However, as the U.S. tariff measures have been in full swing since March, we will continue to monitor the impact of tariffs on SMEs and promptly pursue additional support measures for SMEs to respond to tariffs. We will provide full support so that they can continue the export boom of 2025.”
- See more related articles
You must be logged in to post a comment.