Exports drop for the first time in nearly two years

Cargo piled up at a port in Busan [YONHAP]

Korea's exports fell for the first time in nearly two years amid global turmoil.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday, exports in October shrunk 5.7 percent year-on-year to $52.5 billion. Imports, on the other hand, grew 9.9 percent to $59.2 billion.

The last time exports fell year-on-year was in October 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it shrunk 3.9 percent year-on-year.

Due to the sharp increase in imports, the trade deficit amounted to $6.7 billion. This is the seventh straight month for the country to report a trade deficit, the longest stretch since the financial crisis in the late 1990s.

The government attributed the shrinking exports to the slowing global economy caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine and the tightening of monetary policies in major countries including the United States

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]