South Korea’s Trade Ministry said on April 15 it will help local chipmakers and their subcontractors amid concerns that the sector will suffer a slowdown in the coming months.

The country’s chip exports have been suffering a setback from falling prices amid tepid demand. Export of chips came to $7.42 billion in January, down 23.3 percent from a year earlier, with the comparable figures for February and March being $6.77 billion and $9 billion, respectively, also down 24.8 percent and 16.6 percent from a year earlier.   

Korea’s exports of chips reached $126 billion last year to account for 21 percent of the country’s total outbound shipments of $605 billion, making the segment crucial for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)