Korea achieved a trade surplus in the components and materials industry topping the $100 billion mark for the first time in its history. This means the components and materials industry grew in qualitative and quantitative terms, serving as a cornerstone for the manufacturing industry, despite the fact that the rise in exports of components and materials is partly attributable to the relocation of the local manufacturing bases to overseas.

The Ministry of Trade Industry & Energy recently reported that exports of the sector posted $276 billion while imports reached $168.1 billion, putting the sector’s trade surplus at $107.9 billion to exceed $100 billion for the first time.

The nation’s components and materials industry accomplished $100 billion worth of trade surplus in 17 years since 1997 when the trade in the industry turned to surplus for the first time. Trade surplus in components and materials amounts to 2.3 times higher than the nation’s total trade account of $47.4 billion last year.

Last year, exports of components increased 5.9 percent from a year ago to $188 billion backed by the recovery of demand industry in major advanced nations. Exports of materials reached $88.1 billion, up 3.0 percent from 2013, as the demand for non-metallic minerals and primary metal products picked up.

Such impressive growth of the industry represents basics to the domestic industry has been improved. And it is also a noticeable fact that the local companies’ relocation of their production facility to China and Southeast Asia is another important factor leading the industry’s growth.