South Korea''s trade volume tripled in 10 years

Seoul, Feb 2 (Yonhap) South Korea''s trade volume expandedthree-fold in the last 10 years, helping the country becomethe seventh-largest exporter in the world, a government reportshowed today.

The findings by the Korea Customs Service said thecountry''s export and import volume that stood at just USD291.5 billion in 2001 moved up steadily to USD 545.7 billionin 2005 and hit a record USD 891.6 billion last year.

For 2011, Seoul is aiming to increase two-way trade tomore than USD 1 trillion.

The increase also pushed up the country''s global traderanking from 13th place in 2001 to ninth last year.

In terms of exports, which play a vital part in drivingthe South Korean economy, the country''s outbound shipmentsgrew from USD 150.4 billion a decade ago to USD 284.4 billionin 2005 and USD 466.4 billion in 2010, the report showed.

The increase can be attributed to growing globalcompetitiveness of locally made products such as mobilephones, semiconductors, displays, ships and automobiles thathave expanded their market share in many countries around theworld. (Yonhap)