S. Korea's exports to gain over 10 pct next year: report

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports are expected to grow 10.3
percent next year largely due to a steady increase in shipments of machinery and
steel products, a report showed Sunday.
According to the report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, or KOTRA,
the nation's exports are forecast to reach US$490.6 billion next year, compared
with this year's estimated $446 billion.
The agency said exports to China, the country's biggest overseas market, will
gain 16.5 percent next year. Exports to the Middle East are also expected to post
a steady increase on rising demand for machinery and construction, it said.
But exports to the United States are likely to decline 2.6 percent next year on
falling demand for autos and semiconductors, the agency said.
Exports by Asia's fourth-largest economy, which account for more than half of its
economic growth, are feared to fall amid the global economic slump.
The South Korean economy grew 0.6 percent on-quarter in the July-September
period, the slowest in four years, due to slumping exports and domestic demand.
Exports reached $36.7 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 21.3 percent
from a year earlier.
sam@yna.co.kr
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