S Korea's export growth to drop to 0% range in 2023: poll

The survey of 150 companies in the country's 12 key export industries showed overseas shipments are forecast to expand by 0.5 % in the coming year from 2022.

By sector, exports of electric and electronics products are predicted to sink 1.9 % on-year, with those of petrochemicals likely to fall 0.5 %.

Outbound shipments of biopharmaceutical and health products are projected to grow by 3.5 %. Comparable growth rates are 0.2 % for steel, 0.9 % for cars, and 1.7 % for general machinery and ships.

Of the total firms, nearly 40 % projected outbound shipments of Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink in 2023 from this year due to weakening export competitiveness stemming from high costs and slowing demand from major export destinations.

Local pollster Mono Research conducted the survey, which was commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for South Korea's family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebol.

Exports, the mainstay of South Korea's economic growth for the past two years, has been losing steam in recent months due to such external negatives as the US Fed's rate hikes and the war in Ukraine.

The country's overseas shipments shrank 14 % on-year in November, marking the second consecutive month of on-year decline.

It marks the first time since early 2020 that exports have dipped for two months in a row. South Korea last reported declining exports for more than two months from March through August 2020.

Major economic think tanks in South Korea, including the Korea International Trade Association, predict the country's exports to increase by around 7 % in 2022 from a year earlier.

The survey also showed 53.3 % of the respondents predicting their 2023 export profitability to be similar to that of this year, with 28 % expecting a worsening condition. Some 19 % forecast an improvement.

As to the ways of strengthening the country's export competitiveness, 38 % replied the government should put top policy priority on providing tax breaks regarding raw material purchases. 

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network