Korean items rank first in global export market share

-The number has slightly increased for two consecutive years from 61 in 2011 and 63 in 2012-

There were as many as 65 Korean export items that ranked first in global export market share in 2013, increasing slightly from 63 items in 2012 and 61 in 2011 which all boosted the country into the 12th place from 14th in 2012 and 15th in 2011.

According to a report titled “Korea’s Exports Competitiveness Reviewed through Global Exports Market Number One Items” issued by the Institute for International Trade (Kim Keuk-soo, http://iit.kita.net) of Korea International Trade Association on February 5, as of 2013, China took the first place with 1,538 first ranked Chinese items in the export market. It was followed by Germany (733 items) ranking second, the United States. (550 items) ranking third, and Italy (216 items) ranking fourth. China had 63 more number one items than the previous year while 44 Japanese items disappeared from the top of the list.

For two consecutive years from 2012, the number of Korean items that maintained the first place in their global export market share was 44, including memory semiconductors, auto parts, and tankers. The number of new items to rank first in 2013 was 21, which came mostly from chemical products and textile goods such as ethylene, polycarbonate, and apparel accessories. In contrast, 19 items including steel and agricultural and marine products stepped down in 2013 from the number one list of 2012.

By item, Korea has generated plenty of number one export market share products from chemical products (21 items), to steel (11 items), and textile products (8 items), etc. Over the past six years, the number of chemical products that took first place in export market share has increased while those of transportation machinery, electronic machinery and agriculture and fisheries have shown downward trends.

Among Korea’s 65 number one items, 37 items are in competition with China (20 items), the United States (10 items) and Japan (7), whose items ranked second in export market share. In particular, 14 items, including memory semiconductor, China is closely trailing Korea as the gap of export market share between the two countries is less than 5 percent. Meanwhile, those three countries stood first with 124 items and Korean products are competing with them by ranking second or third.

In terms of the major export destinations, the number of Korea’s number one export items in China and the United States were 372 and 84, respectively in 2013, and ranked 5th and 9th in those countries that were the same as the previous year. Especially, the number of items with the largest export market share in China rose significantly (37 items) and eight more items ranked first in the U.S. market, as well. On the other hand, the number of Korean products that held the first place in export market share in Germany in 2013 increased to 20, which was 1 more than the previous year, and Korea stood 15th(except EU countries).

Moon Byung-ki, a senior researcher at KITA mentioned “The number of Korean export items that ranked first in global export market share in 2013 has grown for two consecutive years since 2011 and Korea stepped into 12th”. He stressed “Korea needs to focus on the items that are competing with China, Japan and the United States for the first place in global market share in order to secure the competitiveness in technology and quality through innovation. At the same time, the measures to foster the expansion of number one items are required at governmental level”. (Source: KITA)

 
 
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