2017 trade volume likely to pass $1 trillion

Korea’s trade volume is expected to surpass $1 trillion this year for the first time in three years, making it the sixth largest exporting country in the world, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Wednesday.

The Korean trade organization estimated Korean exports increased 16.1 percent year on year to $575 billion and imports rose by 17.7 percent to $478 billion. About a $97 billion trade surplus is expected from overall international trades, KITA said in the report.

Semiconductor led the export increase. Exports of chips jumped 55.6 percent year-on-year until October. KITA said semiconductors may become the first single product category to surpass $90 billion in export sales this year. The development of Internet of Things and big data technology has called for larger-capacity and higher-quality memory chips.

KITA predicted exports to increase 4.7 percent year-on-year to $602 billion and imports 6.3 percent to $508 billion next year, surpassing $1 trillion in trade volume for two straight years.

Based on data accumulated by the World Trade Organization until September, Korea is the sixth-largest exporting country in the world, KITA said.

To boost international trade, KITA aims to focus on nurturing small and midsize enterprises as well as start-ups.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]