North Korean Economy Watch

According to Yonhap:

Inter-Korean trade soared 52.1 percent from a year ago to US$153.49 million in February, according to the report by the Korea Customs Service.

South Korea’s outbound shipments came to $77.14 million while its imports from the communist country amounted to $76.35 million for the South’s trade surplus with the North reaching $792,000, the report said.

The surge came as the global economy is on the road to recovery. Inter-Korean trade is expected to soar this year thanks to rising demand amid an economic turnaround, the customs office said.

Nearly half of the companies participating in inter-Korean trade responded that two-way trade will increase this year, according to a survey by the Korea International Trade Association.

In January, the country ran a deficit of $9.55 million from its trade with the North after posting a surplus of $23.91 million in December 2009 for the first time in 16 months.

Bilateral trade has increased steadily over the past decade from $328.65 million in 1999 to $651.68 million in 2002 and surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2005.

Inter-Korean trade reached $1.79 billion in 2007 and peaked at $1.82 billion the following year. But it fell slightly last year to $1.66 billion.

Read the full article here:
Inter-Korean trade jumps 52 percent in Feb.
Yonahp
3/17/2010

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 10:20 pm and is filed under International trade, South Korea, Trade Statistics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.