Speedy Export Growth
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) – South Korea’s export volume grew at the third-fastest pace among the top 10 exporting countries in 2013, a traders’ report showed Tuesday.
According to findings by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country’s export volume grew 6 percent year-on-year, trailing only Hong Kong and China in terms of growth. The two economies reported gains of 6.6 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, compared to 2012.
The gains greatly exceed the 2.7 percent growth average tallied for the global economy as a whole, KITA said.
Market watchers said the growth reached last year is noteworthy because it was achieved in the face of the weak Japanese yen that adversely affected the price competitiveness of locally-made goods. This shows that the country is now selling higher-end quality products that are less affected by exchange rates, they said.
Britain and Germany, also in the top 10, posted gains of 3.2 percent and 2.3 percent from the year before, with the Netherlands, the United States, and France all pulling off positive growth of 1.5 percent to 2 percent.
The export volume for Italy and Japan, on the other hand, contracted 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, from the previous year.
Compared to 2009 when worldwide trade was dented by the global financial crisis, South Korea’s exports expanded 9.6 percent, placing it second only to China whose numbers hit 12.1 percent.
KITA said in terms of growth measured in value, the country ranked seventh, trailing just behind the United States. The value of South Korean exports was up 1.7 percent in the first 11 months of last year, compared to the year before.
Britain led the pack by pulling off a 14.6 percent expansion, followed by Hong Kong, which grew 9.8 percent, and then China. Numbers for Britain and Hong Kong are inflated because gold exports are taken into account, according to KITA. Germany and Italy completed the top five, with France, the Netherlands and Japan all trailing South Korea.
South Korea’s exports to China jumped 8.6 percent year-on-year last year. The country’s import product market share in China hit 9.2 percent, making South Korea the No. 1 seller there, surpassing Japan for the first time.
The country did well in the United States, with exports of cars and information technology products jumping 15.3 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively.
The market share of South Korean products in the world’s largest market reached 2.8 percent, the highest since 2004.
KITA said outbound shipments to countries that have free trade agreements with South Korea also did well last year. Exports to the United States were up 6 percent, with numbers for the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) surging 63.3 percent.
Exports of consumer products accounted for 37.5 percent of all products shipped abroad, up from 12.1 percent in 2010, with shipments of semiconductors rated as the No. 1 export item for the country. Computer chip exports jumped 13.3 percent to US$57.1 billion, with South Korean-made semiconductors making up 20.5 percent of the market share in the US.
“Overall, in terms of value, last year’s exports have fully recovered to 2011 levels and effectively laid the groundwork for more robust growth this year,” said Oh Se-hwan, a senior researcher at KITA’s Institute for International Trade.