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Inter-Korean Trade Totals $227 Million for First Five Months of 2003

2003-06-20

Two-way inter-Korean trade totaled $227.3 million for the first five months of this year, up 22.0 percent from a year earlier. South Korea imported $93.4 million worth of goods, a 16.0 percent increase year on year, while goods valued at $133.9 million were shipped to North Korea, a hike of 26.7 percent.

Major items brought in were agricultural-forestry-fishery products and textiles, as were the case for many months. Major northbound shipments were steel, metal products, textiles and machinery, as in previous months, according to the monthly data released by the unification ministry Wednesday (June 18).

The increase in bilateral trade was attributed to a steady gain in commercial transactions, including deals on processing-on-commission arrangements, as well as in "non-trade" transactions under inter-Korean cooperative projects, including shipments of materials and equipment to connect cross-border railways and roads, and humanitarian assistance. The trend is expected to continue in June amid increases in non-trade transactions arising from delivery of fertilizer and grain.

During the January-May period, the South posted a $ 40.4 million surplus in nominal trade, while the North registered a $69.8 million surplus in actual trade, not counting the value of non-trade transactions.

Of the bilateral trade figure of $227.3 million, commercial transactions amounted to $117 million, up 19.8 percent from a year ago, and accounting for 51.5 percent of the total. The rest was of a non-trade nature such as inter-Korean cooperative projects and humanitarian assistance, which came to $110.3 million, a gain of 24.6 percent from a year earlier.

Trade under the cooperative project category reached $41.2 million, up 36.8 percent from 2002, and accounting for 37.3 percent of the total trade and for 37.4 percent of non-trade nature, respectively. Major items are materials for the construction of light-water reactors valued at $37 million and those of Mt. Geumgang tourism program $2.8 million.

Shipments of goods in support of North Korea totaled $69.1 million, up 22.6 percent from a year ago, and accounting for 30.4 percent of the total trade and for 62.6 percent of non-trade nature, respectively.

Hundred seven companies, including 41 involved in processing-on-commission basis, participated in the two-way trade of 423 items, including 169 handled under the processing-on-commission formula.

Source : www.korea.net