South Korea increases export value in April 1-20

According to the data released by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the country's exports in the first 20 days of April rose 26.6 percent year on year, reaching a new all-time high of $49.77 billion, while the trade balance posted a $5.82 billion surplus, up from $2.78 billion in March. In the given period, China and the US accounted for 23.7 percent and 10.6 percent of the country's total exports, respectively.
 
South Korea's exports of steel in the given period rose 19.9 percent year on year to $2.88 billion, while its ship exports reached a value of $6.43 billion, climbing by 56.1 percent year on year. However, the country's exports of ships to the European Union and China declined.
 
In the meantime, in the April 1-20 period South Korea's automobile exports surged 37.9 percent to $4.29 billion, while its general machinery exports came to $4.04 billion with an increase of 31.9 percent, both compared to the corresponding period in April 2010.