Ten Times More
Korea’s trade surplus with Turkey increased significantly after the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries became effective in May 2013.
According to the Korea Customs Service’s data released on April 29, the amount of the surplus was US$5.49 billion between May 2013 and April 2014, with Korea’s exports to and imports from Turkey adding up to US$6.18 billion and US$690 million, respectively. The amount of the surplus increased by US$1.58 billion compared to the one-year period immediately preceding the implementation of the free trade deal.
Between May 2014 and March this year, the exports reached US$5.97 billion and the imports totaled US$600 million so the surplus amounted to approximately US$5.36 billion. The amount of the surplus that was recorded in the first year of the FTA is estimated to be exceeded once data for April this year is counted in the statistics.
Last year, Turkey’s import from Korea showed an increase of 25.8 percent, the highest among those Turkey recorded with its eight major trade partners. The import of trade items that benefit from the Korea-Turkey FTA showed a significant increase, examples of which include synthetic resin, petrochemical raw materials, and auto parts.