South Korea's exports of biopharmaceutical products more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier on the back of the growing demand for pharmaceutical products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report showed Monday.

Outbound shipments of high-end biopharmaceutical products came to $5.1 billion in 2020, compared with around $2.1 billion tallied the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Asia's fourth-largest economy stood in seventh place in terms of exports in the segment, up two notches from a year earlier.

The biopharmaceutical industry covers medical products that are made with materials originating from organisms.

KITA said South Korea's exports of biopharmaceutical products are expected to continue to grow down the road as Washington is seeking to revamp its supply chain of key pharmaceutical products and forge deeper ties with its allies in the area.

"South Korea currently stands as the No. 2 player in terms of its production capacity of biopharmaceutical products," KITA said in its report, pointing out that it has already clinched manufacturing agreements with various global firms.

With the global drug industry moving its focus from the synthetic sector to biopharmaceutical products, KITA added South Korea is expected to continue to rise as a global production hub. (Yonhap)