South Korea sees biggest worldwide growth in exports in first half of 2017

Posted on : 2017-09-20 18:14 KST Modified on : 2017-09-20 18:14 KST
Consumer goods, automobiles, and cosmetics accounted for the gains
 Jan. – July 2017 Results
Jan. – July 2017 Results

For January to July 2017, South Korea recorded the fastest pace of growth in exports among ten major exporting nations.

In WTO's latest monthly report on trade statistics, issued on September 16, South Korea is listed as having experienced a 16.3% rise in exports in January through July over the same period as last year, putting it in the top position among the ten biggest exporting nations. Korea was followed by the Netherlands (11.0%), Hong Kong (8.5%), China (8.3%), and Japan (8.2%). The world average growth rate in outbound shipments was 8.8%.

The Korean growth figures break down to 14.7% in the first quarter, 16.8% in the second quarter, and 19.5% in July. According to statistics released by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), export growth was concentrated in consumer goods, automobiles, and cosmetics, and in spite of China's retaliation over THAAD deployment, South Korea's exports to China through July reached US$76.2B, which is an 11.5% increase over the same period in 2016.

South Korea's total export sales for January through July came to US$328B, which accounts for 3.6% of the world total of US$9.142T. In terms of total exports, China came out on top (US$1.2405T) followed by the USA (US$880.2B), Germany (US$812.7B), Japan (US$394.3B), and the Netherlands (US$359.4B). South Korea took sixth place, ranking two spots higher than its eighth-place spot in 2016.

World Trade Rankings (WTO
World Trade Rankings (WTO

South Korean imports during January through July totaled US$272.8B, accounting for 2.9% of world imports (US$9.318T) and showing an increase of 20.4%. The USA took the top place in terms of imports (US$1.3659T), with China in second place (US$1.88T), and Germany in third (US$655B). South Korea ranked ninth.

In terms of total international trade for January through July, China ranked first (US$2.2493T) and the U.S. second (US$2.2461T). Those two countries together accounted for 24.4% of total world trade (US$18.46T). At US$600.8B, South Korea's total of imports plus exports came in ninth.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the increase in exports is due to global recovery in the manufacturing sector and a rise in prices of major export items. Overall growth in the export price index for January through July reached 13.9%.

The breakdown by the product categories that scored the highest increases is 51.6% for semiconductors, 29.3% for petroleum products including gasoline and diesel fuel, 25.0% for petrochemicals. There was a 4.0% increase in the quantity of exports, with the amount of semiconductors (25.4%), machinery (17.2%), and petrochemicals (8.2%) showing the biggest growth. The MOTIE predicts that our exports will slow in the latter half of the year because of reduced asset purchases by the U.S. Federal Reserve and America's stronger protectionist tendencies.

By Cho Kye-wan, staff reporter

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