SMEs Spearheading Recovery of Exports with Diversified Products

Korea’s small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) are leading the recovery of the country’s exports with diversified export items.

They recorded an export growth rate of 4.4% between January and November last year, much higher than the 0.5% of their larger counterparts. The ratio to the total exports increased from 32.1% to 32.9% between 2012 and 2013 after a years-long decline, too. In the meantime, the country’s dependence on the export by 50 leading exporters has continuously dropped since 2010 as well.

The export items are being increasingly diversified with new main items emerging rapidly. The ratio of the top 13 items went down from 80.3% to 78.8% between 2011 and last year.