GWANGJU < invest Korea

Gwangju’s exports reached an all-time high in March, helping South Jeolla Province achieve a record trade surplus during the same period.

According to Gwangju Main Customs, Gwangju and South Jeolla Province achieved a trade surplus of USD 821 million (USD 4.83 billion in exports and USD 3.982 billion in imports) in March of 2013.

In the first three months of this year, Gwangju and South Jeolla Province posted a trade surplus of USD 1.89 billion (USD 14.33 billion in exports and USD 12.442 billion in imports), a whopping 838 percent increase on a year earlier.

The fact that Gwangju’s exports, driven mainly by the sales of semiconductors, machinery, and precision instruments, reached an all-time high of USD 1.382 billion in March was analyzed to have led to a record trade surplus in South Jeolla Province as well.

Gwangju’s exports skyrocketed by 18 percent over the same period last year to USD 1.382 billion while imports grew by 1 percent to USD 404 million, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 978 million in March. Gwangju’s exports rose in the fields of semiconductors (96 percent), machinery and precision instruments (34 percent), and steel products (9 percent) while dropping in the leather, rubber, and footwear industries (18 percent).

On the other hand, South Jeolla Province’s exports increased by 9 percent over the same period last year to USD 3.421 billion while imports decreased by 8 percent to USD 3.578 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 157 million in March. South Jeolla Province’s exports climbed in the sectors of oil products (16 percent), chemical products (10 percent), transportation equipment (7 percent), and electric and electronic products (3 percent) while plummeting in the machinery and precision instrument fields (19 percent).

Source: Newsis (Apr. 18, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.