Ratio of South Korea’s Exports to International Trade Estimated at Less than 3%

The ratio of South Korea’s exports to the global total exports is estimated to fall below 3 percent for the first time in 11 years. This is because South Korea’s exports decline hit a 10-year high this year with the South Korean economy more affected by trade protectionism than other economies.

The International Monetary Fund announced on Dec. 8 that the global exports totaled US$12,408.3 billion for the first eight months of this year with South Korea’s exports accounting for 2.9 percent of the total. The ratio was 2.6 percent in 2008, 3 percent in 2009 and remained over 3 percent until 2018, when South Korea’s exports reached a record high of US$601.2 billion to account for 3.1 percent of the total.
 

Since September this year, however, South Korea’s exports have decreased by more than 10 percent, falling more rapidly than the others’ due to factors such as U.S.-China trade disputes and China’s lingering THAAD retaliation. South Korea’s exports are likely to fall for the 12th consecutive month and its commodity exports are likely to show the steepest decline since 2009 this year. Specifically, the Bank of Korea is estimating the decline at 10.2 percent.