SEOUL, KOREA – The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on December 4 that Korea will break the USD 1-trillion barrier in trade figures (sum of export and import figures) by the 8th.
The item that contributed most was none other than petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, and lubricant, overtaking traditional major export items such as ships, semiconductors, and automobiles.

 

The amount of exports in petroleum products for the 11 months between January and November was USD 51.72 billion, accounting for 10.3 percent in total exports. It also exhibited the highest growth rate among the top-ten export items.

 

The total export figure for the year is forecast to be USD 555.2 billion, almost identical to that recorded in 2011. The top export items other than petroleum products for the 11-month period were semiconductors (USD 46.1 billion), general machinery (USD 44.0 billion), automobiles (USD 43.0 billion), petrochemical (USD 42.0 billion), steel products (USD 32.6 billion), and mobile communications (USD 19.8 billion).

 

By region, the exports to Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, have increased by 10.1 percent from the same period last year. 

 

One of the reasons for the rising Southeast Asian exports has to do with the fact that major Korean corporations have made large-scale investments in the region, including the Samsung Electronics mobile phone assembly plant in Vietnam, which caused the demand for parts and components from parent companies to rise.