Korea's Raw Material Imports Exceed $200 Bil. Last Year
Affected by sky-rocketing crude prices, the nation’s imports of raw materials last year exceeded $200 billion for the first time, according to the Korea Customs Service Saturday.
The imports of fuel, minerals and other raw materials amounted to $201.7 billion last year, an increase of 16 percent from a year earlier.
This represents more than half of the nation’s total imports, the agency said.
The raw material imports, which stood at $78.9 billion in 2000, soared to $113.8 billion in 2004. It is the first time that South Korea has seen the figure exceed the $200 billion mark.
``The increase last year was mainly due to steady rise in prices of oil, minerals and non-metal materials," a customs service official said.
South Korea imported $94.6 billion worth of fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, last year, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier. They included $60.3 billion in crude imports. The country imports 97 percent of its energy needs.
Imports of minerals reached $16 billion, up 22.9 percent from the previous year, while those of non-metal materials including aluminum expanded 16 percent to $14.3 billion, according to the agency.