DRAM Exports Lead Trade Surplus In 1998
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced Wednesday the results of its 1998 export-import report, which showed that the country posted a trade surplus of US$39 billion last year. Despite a 13.7% rise in export quantity, exports dropped 2.7% from 1997 to US$132.3 billion, with the decline indicating a fall in unit prices. The top export item was DRAM chips, of which US$16.2 billion was shipped overseas last year. The next most popular export was automobiles, with US$8.6 billion in exports, followed by ships, at US$6.9 billion, computers at US$4.5 billion and petroleum products, at US$4.3 billion. Acccording the report, the amount of total imports came to US$93.3 billion last year, a 35.5% drop from 1997. |
