June Exports Total $590.83 Million... 3.4% Decrease YoY
Synthetic Resins, Auto Parts Up... Overall Decline in Major Export Items
Exports from the Jeonbuk region in the first half of the year amounted to $3.3867 billion as of the end of June, marking an 11.8% decrease compared to last year.
According to the "2024 First Half and June Trade Trends of Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province" report released on the 7th by the Jeonbuk Regional Headquarters of the Korea International Trade Association, exports from Jeollabuk-do in June decreased by 3.4% year-on-year to $590.83 million, imports increased by 1.0% to $471.73 million, and the trade balance recorded a surplus of $11.909 million.
On a cumulative basis through June, the export value from the Jeonbuk region decreased by 11.8% to $3.3867 billion, while imports fell by 6.8% to $2.75786 billion compared to last year.
Export trends in the Jeonbuk region for the first half of this year. [Source: Korea International Trade Association]
The top five export items from Jeollabuk-do in the first half were agricultural and pharmaceutical products ($361.23 million, -3.2%), automobiles ($275.61 million, -13.2%), synthetic resins ($245.12 million, 7.5%), construction and mining machinery ($215.30 million, -39.4%), and agricultural machinery ($197.79 million, -13.6%).
By item and country, agricultural and pharmaceutical products maintained the top position, supported by spring export performance to major existing trading partners such as Vietnam ($56.62 million, 75.5%) and Brazil ($56.08 million, -20.5%).
Automobiles saw demand across various regions including Vietnam ($60.86 million, 48.4%), UAE ($25.95 million, 103.5%), and Germany ($22.74 million, 176.8%). Synthetic resins were the only item among the top five to show positive growth, with $62.01 million (7.9%) exported to China, reflecting the visible endemic effect in that market.
Construction and mining machinery demand was mainly from countries with strong infrastructure support policies such as the United States ($49.92 million, -46.4%) and Saudi Arabia ($33.47 million, -24.2%).
Agricultural machinery exports, which accounted for nearly 80% of exports to the United States ($166.88 million, -11.8%), all declined, marking it as a category with falling exports.
Among the top 10 export items in the first half, except for synthetic resins (3rd), automobile parts (7th), and processed agricultural products (10th), all other seven items decreased.
By region, exports to the Middle East (4.9%) and Africa (4.3%) showed growth, while exports to other regions declined. The export share to the Middle East gradually increased in March and April, mainly due to automobiles, and Africa showed growth in June influenced by exports of heating and cooling equipment.
The regional export share was 40% for Asia, 20% each for Europe and North America, 5-10% for emerging markets such as Latin America and the Middle East, and around 1% for Africa and Oceania.
The four major export countries?the United States, China, Vietnam, and Japan?maintained their rankings without significant changes throughout the first half.
Exports to the United States ($671.74 million, -19.3%, 19.8% share) have continuously declined this year but still remain overwhelmingly higher compared to other regions.
China ($496.53 million, -9.6%, 14.7% share) held the second position, recording export performance mainly in corrugated cardboard for parcel boxes and industrial goods as domestic demand recovered due to the endemic.
Vietnam ($220.38 million, 19.5%, 6.5% share) imported a variety of products from Jeonbuk, including agricultural and pharmaceutical products and automobiles, showing the only positive growth among Jeonbuk's top five export destinations.
Japan ($175.84 million, -14.6%, 5.2% share) showed increasing demand for feed and fine chemical raw materials.
By company size, export performance in the first half ranked mid-sized companies > small and medium enterprises > large companies > others. In June alone, exports by small and medium enterprises in the Jeonbuk region increased by 44.6% compared to last year.
By local government, while total exports from South Korea increased by 5.1% as of June, exports from Jeonbuk decreased by 3.4%. In the first half, Jeonbuk ranked 13th among 17 metropolitan local governments, accounting for 1.01% of the nation's exports.
Park Jun-woo, head of the Jeonbuk Regional Headquarters of the Korea International Trade Association, said, "It is regrettable that Jeonbuk's exports have declined for 21 consecutive months compared to the same period last year since October 2022. However, June recorded the highest export amount this year, and the rate of decline in export growth has also narrowed. We hope that exports will recover to an upward trend soon in the second half of the year."
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