SEOUL: The value of European Union (EU) exports of goods to South Korea has more than doubled over the period 2004-2014, from €17.9 bn in 2004 to a peak of €43.2 bn in 2014. Imports show a more varied trend over this 10-year time period.
In2014 they amounted to €39.0 bn, up by 9% compared with 2013 but still below the peak reached in 2007 (€41.7 bn). 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 +€4.1 bn in both 2013 and 2014.
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.
On the occasion of the European Union – South Korea summit, which will take place on 15 September in Seoul, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, issues data on trade in goods between South Korea and the EU.
