[뉴스워치] As the global corona 19 wave continues, exports to Korea, which succeeded in an economic rebound in the second half of last year from November to December in a row, are expected to continue this momentum this year.
With the development of full-fledged COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments one after another, the expectations for an economic rebound and the economic growth rates of major countries around the world are being pushed forward with positive forecasts.
With Corona 19, global trade declined and exports to major countries were also sluggish while exports to Korea were confirmed to be relatively good. Although last year’s exports to Korea declined due to a decline in global trade and economic slowdown in major countries, it is said that it was a year to see new hope despite difficult conditions.
Korea had a crisis such as a 20% drop in exports in the second quarter of last year, but the export recovery system worked effectively and exports in the fourth and second half of last year rebounded positively after two years.
In addition, it is analyzed that high value-added products such as system semiconductors, OLEDs, diagnostic kits, and eco-friendly cars have achieved qualitative growth such as recording the highest performance ever recorded annually.
Economic experts explained, “It is also positive that the export base is expanding, as the proportion of exports from SMEs is increasing, and promising consumer goods items such as cosmetics and agricultural and fishery products centered on small and medium-sized enterprises have achieved the best annual performance.”
The government expressed a strong commitment to exports, saying, “As there are uncertainties such as Corona 19, the launch of a new US government, protectionism, etc., we will concentrate all policy capacities so that the recent good trend continues this year.”
Among these, exports in December of last year recorded 54.1 billion dollars, an increase of +12.6% year-on-year, showing a good trend this year. After recording a plus in September, it switched back to a plus after three months. Income is also showing a return to the level before Corona 19. The trade balance is also rising at $6.94 billion, which is on the rise for eight consecutive months.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 3rd, Korea achieved $500 billion in exports for four years in a row despite the decline in global trade. The scale of the trade surplus was $45.6 billion, an increase of +17.3% year-on-year, achieving a trade surplus for 2012 consecutive years. .
Annual total exports declined, but exports in the fourth quarter (+4.2%) and exports in the second half (+0.4%) turned positive after two years, respectively, showing a clear recovery after the third quarter. According to WTO statistics (accumulated from January to October 2020), Korea was the fourth-best among the top 10 exporting countries in terms of export growth rate (only 4 countries with a plus or single digit decline).
In the past, exports to Korea fell more sharply when global trade declined (four times since 2000), but for the first time last year, exports fell less than global trade.
With the revitalization of the non-face-to-face economy, IT-related items such as semiconductors, computers, and rechargeable batteries are steadily promoting and playing a supporting role in exports to Korea in the midst of crisis. In the case of semiconductors, annual exports increased by +5.6% year-on-year to 9.9.18 billion dollars, the second ever since 2018 at 126.7 billion dollars.
Computer exports also increased by +57.2% year-on-year to $13.43 billion, the highest since 2007, and the highest in 21 years since 1999. In addition, secondary batteries are also increasing for 5 consecutive years, breaking the highest level every year.
Economically sensitive items that were sluggish in the second quarter of last year are returning to the recovery trend. Economically sensitive consumer goods, such as automobiles, wireless communication devices and home appliances, declined more than 20% in 2Q, but all recorded positives in 4Q, showing a recovery trend.
Intermediate goods such as general machinery, textiles, and car parts, which are greatly affected by economic activities in major countries, also recovered from a long sluggishness and recorded positives in December. From November to December, all items except petroleum products increased or decreased by a single digit, and sluggish items are showing a gradual recovery trend.
In particular, high value-added new growth items are remarkable. High value-added new growth items such as bio-health, system semiconductors, eco-friendly vehicles (electric vehicles + hydrogen vehicles), and OLEDs all achieved the highest annual export performance.
System semiconductors are high value-added items that account for 30% of semiconductor exports, and are recording the highest performance ever, exceeding $30 billion in annual exports for the first time.
In particular, eco-friendly cars such as electric and hydrogen cars increased 39.9% last year, and the share of total car exports exceeded 10% for the first time in history, and OLED, a high value-added item in OLED displays, achieved exports of 10 billion dollars for three consecutive years. did. The yearly record was also achieved.
The expansion of Korea’s export base, such as the growth of small and medium-sized companies, is also noticeable. On a cumulative basis in November, exports of small and medium-sized companies increased by 0.9%p and 0.2%p, respectively, compared to the previous year, increasing the base of Korean exports. In particular, promising consumer goods such as cosmetics and agricultural and fishery foods, which account for more than half of the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (estimated value), performed well, recording the highest annual performance ever.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Seong Yun-mo said, “As our exports continued to rise in recent years, total exports and daily average exports increased in a row for December.” In particular, exports surpassed 50 billion dollars in 25 months at the end of last year, and the export growth rate was also double. It recorded the best performance in the last two years while recording the number of digits.”
Minister Seong said, “This year, we will not spare the best support measures for the recovery of export vitality of companies, such as online marketing support, trade finance supply, and logistics difficulties,” he said. “Using RCEP and Korea-India CEPA, we will actively advance into emerging markets. In addition, it will further accelerate the high value-added export items by expanding the territory of export and fostering promising items.”
Reporter Hyun Sung-sik newswatch@