By Kim Tae-jong
The country’s exports, which have slowed in the past few months, are showing little sign of a turnaround in the second half of the year, due largely to the prolonged eurozone crisis and recession in China and the United States, countries Korea has a high dependency on for exports.
According to the Korea Customs Service, a trade surplus has continued for four months but the volume of imports and exports has decreased for three months, triggering concerns over a downturn in the local economy.
The nation posted a trade surplus of $2.26 billion in May with $47.1 billion in exports and $44.8 billion in imports, but the volume of exports and imports decreased 0.59 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. It was the third consecutive month for the country to see a decline in exports and imports.
In response, the government is considering adjusting its previous projection for exports this year.
“The government predicted the nation’s exports would reach $595 billion early this year based on the assumption that the global economy would grow 4 percent this year,” said Han Jin-hyun, director for the Office of International Investment and Trade at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. “However, it is inevitable to adjust the prediction due to various factors that have had an impact on exports and imports.”
In May, exports to China, which account for 25 percent of Korea’s total, slumped 4.9 percent with the nation posting $10.7 billion in exports to the second-largest economy. It was the third straight month for the country to see a decline in exports to China.
Exports to the European Union have been on decrease for three months too, totaling $4.6 billion in May. The volume of exports fell 44.3 percent to the United Kingdom, 41.7 percent to Italy, 13.6 percent to France and 36.1 percent to Greece.
Exports to the United States, which showed a steady increase for months, also decreased 8.3 percent last month, the first drop in four months, at $4.7 billion.