South Korea - exports fall 3.2% in October: ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on Oct 31, 2016

10월 수출 419억달러로 작년대비 3.2%↓… 자동차 파업•노트7 단종 영향

South Korea's exports remained in negative territory,... after a slight rebound at the end of the summer that was the first in almost two years.

The decline has been attributed to sluggish shipments of cars and mobile devices.

Kim Min-ji reports. 

Korea's exports continued their downward streak in October.

The trade ministry says outbound shipments dipped 3-point-2 percent last month to 41-point-9 billion U.S. dollars.

Exports had dipped for 19 straight months,... turning around for the first time in August,... and then falling again in September. 

Imports also remained in negative territory last month -- falling 5-point-4 percent to 34-point-8 billion dollars. 

With that, the trade surplus came to 7-point-2 billion dollars last month,... extending the country's surplus streak to a 57th straight month.

The decline in exports in October was attributed to fewer working days,... Samsung Electronics' decision to discontinue its Galaxy Note 7... and a prolonged strike in the nation's auto industry.

Those factors are believed to have pulled down exports by over 2-point-1 billion dollars overall.
Last month,... Samsung called an end to production and sales of its flagship phablet,... after reports that even replacement Note 7s had caught fire.

Strikes in the auto industry over the adoption of a performance-based wage system have taken a toll on production.

However, in a glint of light,... the pace of decline was slower than the previous month,... when exports fell 5-point-9 percent,... due in part to improvements in other key export items,... such as semiconducters, computers and flat panel displays.

The government has vowed to keep up its efforts to boost exports and push them back into positive territory.
It seeks to offer marketing support, foster more opportunities in emerging markets and make better use of free trade deals.

Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.