Business conditions for South Korea’s exports will continue to stagnate in the third quarter (Q3) of this year due to euro-zone financial problems and China’s economic slowdown, a poll recently showed.

The export business survey index(EBSI) came at 87.5 for the July- September period, the lowest level since it record 66.1 in Q2 of 2009, based upon a survey of 964 local companies by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

The latest number shows that the EBSI has fallen below the 100 mark for Q4 in a row, meaning that pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey also showed that shipbuilding and petrochemical exporters have the gloomiest outlooks for the quarter with their index numbers reaching 57.1 and 66.7, respectively.

Of the companies surveyed, 22.7 percent said decreasing demand in Europe and China would pose difficulties for them, while 19.6 percent said a rise in raw material prices will likely pose the biggest problem for them in the coming months.

Container cargo volume climbs 4.7 pct in June

The volume of container cargoes handled by South Korean seaports in June this year will rise 4.7 percent on-year to log 1.87 million TEU(twenty-foot equivalent unit), revealed the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs(MLTM) Import and export cargoes are estimated to climb 4.1 percent to reach 1.15 million TEU, while transshipment cargos will climb 7.2 percent to 0.69 million TEU.

Transshipment cargoes, which have been recording a double-digit growth for 14 straight months since February last year, are believed to slow to post a single-digit growth for the first time in 15 months this June. Europe’s debt crisis has caused China’s cargo volume to shrink drastically, the explanation goes.

Busan Port, the largest port in Korea, saw its container cargo volume rise 5.3 percent on-year to 1.43 million TEU, while transshipment cargo grew 7.0 percent to 0.66 million TEU. The fall in cargo volume at the northern Chinese seaports such as Tianjin and Dalian caused transshipment figures to dip, say experts.

Gwangyang Port posted a cargo volume of 172,000 TEU, up 8.8 percent, on increasing exports and imports to and from China, the U.S. and Russia. The cargo volume at Incheon Port declined 0.5 percent to 162,000 TEU, said the MLTM.