South Korea is expected to post a growth in 2022 exports from a year earlier, but it is unlikely to meet its yearly target of $700 billion in outbound shipments due to sluggish sales of key items, like mobile devices and ships, government data showed Sunday.
Exports of 15 major products, including semiconductors, ships, cars and petrochemicals, for the first 11 months of 2022 amounted to $490.6 billion, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The total amount of the country's exports reached $629.1 billion in the 11-month period.
Five products -- ships, textiles, mobile devices, home appliances and computers -- saw their January-November exports decrease from a year earlier, while overseas sales of 10 items marked an on-year growth in 2022, Last year, exports of all 15 sectors gained ground from the previous year.
Exports of ships tumbled 26.8 percent on-year to $15.8 billion through November, compared with a 27.1 percent rise in 2021.
Overseas sales of mobile devices fell 8 percent to $16 billion from a year ago from $17.4 billion.
Exports of textiles retreated 2.5 percent on-year to $11.3 billion, while overseas sales of home appliances and computers fell 5.4 percent and 1.5 percent in the first 11 months of this year, respectively.
The data showed 10 other products experienced a slowdown in their overseas sales in the 11-month period.
Some $120.2 billion worth of South Korean-made chips were sold overseas over the cited period, up 4.3 percent from a year ago. Exports of South Korean semiconductors jumped 28.4 percent on-year in the same period last year.
Overseas sales of cars expanded 15.3 percent to $48.7 billion in 2022, while its 2021 sales logged a 25 percent on-year growth.
Petrochemicals, refinery products, steel and displays also saw their 2022 exports slow down sharply from a year ago.
As a result, South Korea will likely fail to meet its earlier goal of $700 billion in annual exports for 2022, while Asia's fourth-largest economy celebrated a record high of $644.5 billion in exports last year.
The Korea International Trade Association earlier forecast that the country will post $690 billion in exports, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier, amid waning demand worldwide.
It said South Korea's 2023 exports could decline 4 percent on-year due to lingering unfavorable external factors. (Yonhap)
