S. Korea`s trade centered on handful of countries: report

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The bulk of South Korea's trade took place with only a
handful of countries this year despite efforts to diversify trading partners, a
government report showed Thursday.
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said 10 major trading powerhouses including
China, the United States and Japan accounted for 61 percent of South Korea's
two-way trade in the first 10 months of this year.
The country's exports and imports came to US$294.0 billion and $260.3 billion,
respectively, with a trade surplus of $33.7 billion up till last month.
Seoul has been trying to diversify its trading partners to better insulate itself
in case a few large markets are hit hard by a downturn like the one that has
unfolded over the past year.
KCS said outbound shipments to the 10 countries totaled $179.2 billion, or 61.0
percent of all exports, with the figure rising to 75.1 percent if the list is
extended to the top 20 countries.
Exports to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, stood at $69.4 billion,
or 23.6 percent of the total, with the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore
making up the rest of the top five. Shipments to the United States and Japan
stood at $30.8 billion and $17.6 billion, respectively.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands was the sixth largest destination for South
Korean products, due to a surge in ship exports, followed by Taiwan, Germany,
India and Mexico.
The 10 countries accounted for 67.2 percent of imports, while South Korea's top
20 trading partners made up 84.0 percent, according to the customs office.
China, Japan and the U.S. led the pack along with Saudi Arabia, Australia,
Germany, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia and Singapore.
South Korea enjoyed the largest surplus with China, while its single largest
deficit was tallied in its trade with Japan.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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