Exports to drop nearly 30 pct in January: trade agency

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports are likely to drop nearly 30 percent this month amid the deepening global economic crisis, a government trade agency said Tuesday.

Exports may post a "double-digit" decline in the first-half of this year,
according to Lee Hee-beom, head of the Korea International Trade Association.
Exports suffered a 17.4 percent drop in December following a 18.3 percent decline
a month earlier.
"Given leading indicators, exports are expected to fall by about 30 percent in
January," Lee said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. He added that this
year's export volume would still top US$450 billion.
Exports are expected to bottom out in the second half due to economic stimulus
packages in advanced economies and falling oil and commodity prices, Lee said.
South Korea's export-dependent economy has been hit hard by the global economic
crisis as the United States and Europe have slid into recession and China has
seen a slowdown in growth.
Some economists predict South Korea's economy could sink into a technical
recession this year.
The Bank of Korea, the nation's central bank, expects the economy to grow two
percent this year compared with an estimated 3.7 percent expansion in 2008. The
economy grew five percent in 2007.