Auto parts exports to Japan rose sharply in the first seven months of the year, reducing a chronic trade deficit in the industry with the neighboring country, industry data showed Friday.
According to the data compiled by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), shipments of South Korean auto parts to Japan reached $461 million in the January-July period, up 29 percent from a year ago.
The country's imports of Japanese components fell 26 percent on-year to $712 million over the seven-month period, leading to a trade deficit of $252 million.
South Korea suffered a deficit of $1 billion in the auto parts trade with the world's fourth-largest economy in 2011, noted the KOTRA data.
KOTRA said that Japanese carmakers have increased their purchases of South Korean auto parts in efforts to diversify their buying portfolios in the aftermath of the massive earthquake last year.
Nissan Motor Co. produces vehicles with more than 40 percent of foreign-made auto parts, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. have plans to raise the rate to 30 percent, according to KOTRA.
Toyota Motor Corp. is also expected to buy 10 percent of its auto components from overseas suppliers, added the agency.
"Japanese companies are increasingly showing interest in South Korean auto parts. We have plans to boost business cooperation between the two countries," said an official from KOTRA. (Yonhap)