Gimhae City Sees Resilient Export Growth Despite Pandemic... Up 22.8% Compared to Same Period Last Year

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Exports from Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, show an increasing trend despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the city on the 30th, the manufacturing sector increased by 22.8% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, recording double-digit growth for four consecutive months since March.

In the manufacturing sector, exports reached $1.47 billion in the first half of this year, up 22.8% from the same period last year, driven by strong performance in machinery, chemical, and electrical equipment industries. Imports increased by 33.3% to $1.09 billion, resulting in a surplus of $370 million.

By product category, core industries such as machinery, metal, automobile, and ship parts accounted for 56.9% of total exports, with machinery exports increasing by 22.2%.

Additionally, the recovery in the automobile-related sector boosted exports of automobile parts to the United States and Europe, serving as a driving force behind the four consecutive months of double-digit growth. Steel and metal products, as well as electrical equipment products, also showed an upward trend.

The total export value to the three major export countries?the United States (up 34.7%), China (up 33.6%), and Vietnam (up 23.7%)?accounted for $690 million, while Japan (down 22.0%) dropped from second to fourth place in the ranking of major export countries following the export restrictions imposed in 2019.

The city reported that exports, which had been on the rise since 2017, declined by 5.5% in the second half of 2019 and by 10.5% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. However, since the first half of this year, exports have been recovering with consecutive double-digit growth rates, and the upward trend is expected to continue in the second half.

The agricultural product export sector has also maintained steady growth over the past five years.

Annual export amounts were 49 billion KRW in 2016, 52.7 billion KRW in 2017 (up 7.6%), 53 billion KRW in 2018 (up 0.6%), 65.5 billion KRW in 2019 (up 24%), and 78.3 billion KRW in 2020 (up 20%). As of August this year, 70% of this year’s export target of 79 billion KRW has been achieved.

This is attributed to the efforts of exporting farms and companies, along with about ten support projects by the city, including facility modernization for exporting farms, export logistics cost support, and joint sorting cost support for export agricultural products, which have created synergy.

Mayor Heo Seong-gon said, "I am grateful that small and medium-sized enterprises and exporting farms in the Gimhae area have played a leading role in revitalizing the local economy despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19," adding, "We will continue to provide active support to help increase exports."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.