The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 1 that Korea's exports in 2021 hit USD 644.5 billion, a hefty 25.8 percent increase over the previous year. Annual imports also stand at a historic $615.1 billion, up by 31.5 percent. As net exporter for the 13th consecutive year with a record-breaking trade surplus of $29.5 billion, placing Korea among top 8 trade countries worldwide.
As an indicator of Korea's more balanced growth, 15 major items saw across-the-board positive surge in exports for the first time in the 21st century, all achieving two-digit leaps. At the helm, semiconductor (up 29.0 percent) and petrochemical (up 54.8 percent) exports delivered unprecedented figures, accompanied by bio-health products (up 16.9 percent) and secondary batteries (up 15.5 percent).
Global rise in demand for high value-added and eco-friendly products drove 4th highest car exports in Korea's history in spite of vehicle semiconductor supply chain challenges. Moreover, Korea's competitive advantage in shipbuilding has helped to recover pre-pandemic exports levels.
For the month of December 2021, Korea's exports saw a year-on-year growth of 18.3 percent to $60.7 billion, yet another historic record. Imports also shot up 37.4 percent to $61.3 billion and the trade balance stood at a deficit of $0.6 billion.
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Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea published this content on 03 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 04 January 2022 12:28:05 UTC.