S. Korea's global export ranking rises two notches to 10th place

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's global export ranking rose two notches
to 10th place this year mainly due to local companies being less affected by the
worldwide economic slump, the government said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said South Korea exported a total of US$104.9
billion worth of products in the first four months of this year, surpassing
Canada and Hong Kong.

"The main reason for the gain is that South Korea's exports contracted an average
23.6 percent in the four month period compared to the 30.6 percent decline
tallied for the top 15 exporters in the world," said Kang Myung-soo, head of the
ministry's export-import division.
The No. 1 exporting nation was Germany with total outbound shipments reaching
$342.0 billion, followed by China, the United States and Japan. China's exports
up until April topped $337.4 billion, while those for the United States and Japan
reached $329.4 billion and $161.8 billion, respectively.
France and the Netherlands were the fifth and sixth largest exporters, with
Italy, Belgium and Britain coming in seventh through ninth.
Kang, also said that while figures from May onwards were not all out, South Korea
may become the ninth largest exporting country in the third quarter.
"From April onwards, South Korean exports have recovered to around $30 billion
per month, while Britain has stayed around $28 billion," the official said. He
added that the gap between South Korea and Canada may have widened since after
April.
In the first seven months of this year, South Korea shipped $198.39 billion worth
of goods -- a drop of 22.2 percent compared to last year and imported $172.15
billion for a surplus of $26.23 billion.
Last year during the same period, the country trade balance was in the red by
$8.89 billion.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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