(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) South Korea's two-way trade is expected to once again surpass the US$1 trillion mark in 2016, after a poor showing this year, a report by an international traders organization said Sunday.
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) predicted exports will rise 2.3 percent on-year in 2016 to $544 billion, with imports advancing 4.8 percent to $461 billion. The combined total should hover just over $1 trillion, with the country's trade surplus reaching $83 billion.
Asia's fourth-largest economy became the ninth country in the world to export and import more than $1 trillion worth of goods in 2011. Up until 2014, the country's total trade topped $1 trillion every year, but this number will not be reached in 2015.
"The global economy is expected to move up into the mid-3 percent range in the new year, compared with 3.1 percent in 2015," it said.
The trade organization said a rise in crude oil and refined petroleum trade should help overall numbers.
It also said demand for general machinery, mobile communication devices and autos should go up, although the shipbuilding, displays and steel sectors will struggle with weak sales.
For 2015, KITA said that outbound shipments will likely contract by 7.1 percent vis-a-vis the year before to $532 billion, with imports nosediving 16.3 percent to $440 billion. Two-way trade should hit $972 billion.
In the January-October period, the country exported $440.2 billion worth of goods, while importing 367.4 billion.
"The slowdown in global economic growth, changes to the industrial structure and a sharp fall in international crude oil prices caused worldwide trade to backtrack by more than 10 percent," the association said. "Such developments naturally affected South Korea's trade figures." In particular, it said the 50 percent on-year drop in crude prices played a big part in this year's disappointing numbers.
South Korea is one of the largest importers of oil, and one of the top producers of refined petroleum products and petrochemicals in the world.
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