South Korea steel export falls in 2013
Post Date: 28 Dec 2013 Viewed: 333
A steel association said that South Korea's exports of steel products fell for the first time in four years in 2013, due mainly to the prolonged slowdown in the global economy.
According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association, local steelmakers exported 29.2 million tonnes of steel related products this year, down 4.3% from 30.5 million tonnes tallied a year earlier.
It marked the first on year drop since 2009, when the amount edged down 1.44% to reach 20.5 million tonnes, as the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis weighed down on manufacturers' business sentiment around the world.
South Korea's steel production for 2013 is estimated at 69 million tonnes, down 4.2% from the previous year.
A KOSA official said that "Although major firms such as POSCO and Hyundai Steel Co have expanded their production facilities, the economic slowdown from home and abroad as well as an unstable electricity supply dented South Korea's steel industry.”
KOSA added that advanced countries' move to impose trade regulations and the weak Japanese yen against the local currency also emerged as challenges for local steel producers, which will continue to limit the industry's recovery next year.
A relatively stronger won inflicts foreign exchange losses on local exporters, making South Korean goods more expensive overseas and damaging firms that compete with Japanese firms.