74% of Mid-sized Companies Expect This Year's Exports to Match or Slightly Improve on Last Year's Level

Junggyeonryeon Announces Results of '2023 Mid-sized Companies Export Outlook and Challenges Survey'

Seventy-four percent of medium-sized enterprises expected their export performance this year to be similar to or slightly better than last year. Twenty-six percent of medium-sized enterprises anticipated a deterioration.

On the 28th, the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises announced the results of the "2023 Medium-sized Enterprises Export Outlook and Difficulties Survey" conducted among exporting medium-sized enterprises. Fifty percent of the responding medium-sized enterprises were found to export to more than 10 countries, and 15% to 6-9 countries. The top primary market was the United States (50%), followed by China (18%), Europe (6%), the Middle East (6%), and Vietnam (6%).

Seventy-nine percent of medium-sized enterprises were actively seeking to enter new markets to improve export performance. Despite increased uncertainty in local conditions due to the IRA and CHIPS Act, 23% of medium-sized enterprises prioritized the U.S. market the most. This was followed by Europe at 18%, Africa at 10%, and Vietnam at 10%. Additionally, nearly half (49%) of medium-sized enterprises were pursuing "export market diversification" to mitigate export risks. "Utilization of government support programs" (20.4%) ranked second.

Medium-sized enterprise representatives identified "global economic slowdown" (71.4%) as the biggest export risk. This was followed by "increased exchange rate volatility" (8.6%), "rising logistics costs" (5.7%), and "spread of protectionism" (5.7%). Medium-sized enterprises operating in overseas markets pointed to "cost increases due to logistics and raw material fluctuations" (61%) as their biggest challenge. "Import regulations in export destination countries" (12%) was also cited as an issue to be resolved. Furthermore, 29% of medium-sized enterprise representatives answered that the top priority for policies supporting export activation was "stabilization of raw material supply." Twenty-five point seven percent chose "support for export market diversification," and 20.6% selected "expansion of trade finance support."

Lee Ho-jun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, stated, "Even after the announcement of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Semiconductor Support Act, the fact that the largest number of medium-sized enterprises prioritize entering the U.S. market shows that strengthening trade with the U.S. can be a proactive solution to respond to the rapidly changing global trade environment." He added, "We will closely communicate with the government and the National Assembly to ensure that meaningful outcomes are achieved at the end of April during the Korea-U.S. summit, where many medium-sized enterprises will participate as economic delegations, minimizing burdens and damages to our companies while enhancing export competitiveness."