The surge in global natural resource prices is raising concerns over the South Korea's current account balance sheet, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Monday.
The service said South Korean companies spent roughly 67 won for every 100 won worth of products exported abroad.
In the first month of the year, South Korea imported $21.85 billion worth of energy, mineral resources and oil-based products, while exports totalled $32.42 billion.
The deficit in the current account, the nation's broadest measure of international trade, ballooned to an 11-year high of $2.6 billion in January, up from a $813.8 million deficit the previous month. The January deficit was the largest since January 1997 when the shortfall amounted to $3.13 billion.
"The tally showed that import of raw materials accounted for 67.4 percent of exports," a KCS official said.
From 2000 to 2004, the percentage of money paid for raw materials versus export earnings fell from 45.8 percent to 44.8 percent, but this rebounded to 49.7 percent in 2005. It has been growing ever since, reaching 53.4 percent in 2006 and 54.3 percent in 2007.
The official said crude oil, natural gas, coal, and iron ore prices all contributed to greater overseas payments.
The average price of crude oil topped $88.46 per barrel with the country paying a total of $11.67 billion in January or a annual gain of 78.0 percent.
South Korea also paid 69.2 percent more for coal and natural gas during the cited month compared to the year before, while imports of iron and copper ore gained 24.7 percent. (Yonhap)