Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Foreign trade
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Tuesday, 19.03.2024, 04:45
In 2014, balance of Lithuania's trade with South Korea was negative
The value of EU exports of goods to South Korea has more than doubled over the period 2004- 2014, from EUR 17.9 billion in 2004 to a peak of EUR 43.2 billion in 2014. Imports show a more varied trend over this 10-year time period. In 2014, they amounted to EUR 39.0 billion, up by 9% compared with 2013 but still below the peak reached in 2007 (EUR 41.7 billion). As a result, the EU trade balance with South Korea, which had constantly been in deficit from 2004 to 2012, has turned into a surplus for the last two years and stood at +EUR 4.1 billion in both 2013 and 2014, informs LETA/ELTA.
Accounting for around 2.5% of total extra-EU trade in goods, South Korea is the eighth most important EU trading partner, just behind Japan and ahead of India. Over the last decade, the share of South Korea in extra-EU exports increased from 1.9% in 2004 to 2.5% in 2014, while its share in imports dropped from 3.0% in 2004 to 2.3% in 2014. Among the EU Member States, Germany (EUR 15.7 billion or 36% of EU exports of goods to South Korea) was by far the largest exporter to South Korea in 2014, followed by the United Kingdom (EUR 5.1 billion or 12%), France (EUR 5.0 billion or12%), Italy (EUR 4.2 billion or 10%) and the Netherlands (EUR 3.8 billion or 9%, partially due to the "Rotterdam effect").Compared with 2013, exports to South Korea increased for each of these five largest partners, except the United Kingdom. At EU level, exports of goods to South Korea grew by 8% in 2014.
Germany (EUR 6.8 billion or 17% of EU imports of goods from South Korea) was also the largest importer from South Korea in 2014, ahead of the United Kingdom (EUR 4.5 billion or 12%), the Netherlands (EUR 3.7 billion or 9%, partially due to the "Rotterdam effect") and Slovakia (EUR 3.5 billion or 9%). Overall, EU imports of goods from South Korea grew by 9% in 2014. This increase was mainly driven by the rises of imports from South Korea recorded in the United Kingdom, Greece and Denmark.
Sixteen EU Member States recorded a deficit in trade with South Korea in 2014, with the largest being recorded in Slovakia (-EUR 3.4 billion), Poland (-EUR 2.2 billion), Greece (-EUR 1.2 billion), the Czech Republic and Slovenia (both –EUR 1.1 billion). In contrast, the highest surplus was observed in Germany (+EUR 8.9 billion), well ahead of France (+EUR 2.8 billion), and Italy (+EUR 1.8 billion).