Exports calculated using the Korean won declined for the second year in a row in 2014, despite South Korea’s outbound shipments hitting record annual levels, trade data showed Monday.

Numbers released by the ministry of trade and industry and the Korea International Trade Association showed Asia’s fourth-largest economy exporting $573.1 billion worth of goods last year, up 2.4 percent from 2013.

In contrast, when converted to the local currency, exports dipped 1.5 percent to 603 trillion won.

It was the same in 2013 when exports in dollar denominations rose 2.1 percent to $559.6 billion, but in won, exports came to 613 trillion won, a dip of 0.7 percent on-year.

The ministry and KITA said the development is due to the strengthening of the won to the dollar.

The average won-dollar exchange rate for 2014 stood at 1,053.2 won to the U.S. currency. In 2013, the exchange stood at 1,095 won to the greenback. 

Some observers note that despite export growth, South Korean companies, unlike the past, are not able to offset negative fallouts of foreign exchange on what they bring back home. This is partly due to local exporters unable to cope with slowdown in growth in advanced economies and the restructuring taking place in China, the country’s No. 1 export market, they say. (Yonhap)