(Yicai Global) Aug. 8 -- The value of South Korea’s exports to China fell below that of its imports for the third consecutive month in July and the deficit is widening, according to the latest data.

South Korea’s trade deficit with China amounted to USD1.5 billion in the first 20 days of last month, according to the South Korean Customs Service. In May and June, the deficit came to USD1.1 billion and USD1.2 billion respectively. For over 27 years until May this year, China’s fourth largest trading partner had been in a trade surplus.

Only South Korean semiconductor exports gained between July 1 and July 25, jumping 10.9 percent. All other top exports either remained unchanged or fell. While imports of big product categories such as fibers, machinery and computers all increased.

South Korean-made products are slowly losing their appeal in China. The market share of LG Electronics, the world’s second-largest TV manufacturer, has narrowed to 0.1 percent from a peak of 5.6 percent in 2009 due to fierce competition from local and other overseas brands, according to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association.

And Samsung’s mobile phones accounted for just 0.6 percent of the market last year, down from 19.7 percent in 2013 when it was a more popular brand than both US tech firm Apple and Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies. The drop in popularity is partly to do with Seoul-based Samsung excluding China from a global recall of cell phones in 2016.

China’s manufacturing sector has been rapidly developing in recent years and Chinese products are not inferior to those of overseas brands in either appearance or performance, said Huang Fei, professor at South Korea’s aSSIST University of integrated sciences and technology.

South Korean products are being undercut by Chinese rivals and their after-sales services are not as strong, Huang said. South Korean firms must provide higher quality goods and better services or they risk losing the China market, she said.

Bilateral trade between China and South Korea surged 10.2 percent in the first five months from the same period last year to USD152.3 billion, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. Last year it exceeded USD360 billion.

Editors：Shi Yi, Kim Taylor