The Institute for International Trade of Korea (KITA) announced that Korea was ranked 7th in the export rankings in the first half of the year entering the top 8 list of the world’s export giants. With the exports of Italy and Belgium, who have a similar scale of exports with Korea, falling by 20% since being ranked in 2008, Korea advanced past them with a 3.5% increased exports. Korea's ranking climbed 3 positions in 2009, and 2 in 2010. The most significant contributing factor relative to this accomplishment is the consistent rise in IT product exports, such as semiconductors and LCDs. The sustained business recovery through diversification of export markets and the poor showing of the European export trade were also a part of the equation.
Whether or not Korea will retain it's 7th place ranking until the end of the year depends on the competition between Korea’s nearest rivals, Italy and Belgium. Forces at work on the tri-country competition are the economic trend of major players in the field, the demand and price fluctuations for IT products, which are Korea’s primary export items, and and the rise and fall of exchange rates.
Remaining in the exports top 8 is not an easy task, particularly if the economic recovery of the U.S and Europe hit its stride after 2011. If the recovery does take place, fierce competition between countries with similar-scale exports to Korea are expected. An expert from KITA said, “To retain Korea’s position in top 8, it needs to diversify markets and establish strong positions in places other than the Chinese domestic market, and diversify their product offering beyond where they are now concentrated, specifically the core IT items, in the long run.”
