South Korea’s export volume grew at the third-fastest pace among the top 10 exporting countries in 2013, a traders’ report showed Tuesday.

According to the findings by the Korea International Trade Association, the country’s export volume grew 6 percent on-year, trailing only Hong Kong and China in terms of growth. The two economies reported gains of 6.6 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, compared to 2012.

The gains greatly exceed the 2.7 percent growth average tallied for the global economy as a whole, KITA said.

Market watchers said the growth reached last year is noteworthy because it was achieved in the face of the weak Japanese yen that adversely affected the price competitiveness of locally made goods.

This shows that the country is now selling higher-end quality products that are less affected by exchange rates, they said.

Britain and Germany, also in the top 10, posted gains of 3.2 percent and 2.3 percent from the year before, with the Netherlands, the United States and France all pulling off positive growth of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. (Yonhap)