Trade with S Korea sees stellar growth

Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and South Korea reached a record high of $2.01 billion from January and November this year, registering a 54.6 per cent year-on-year growth.

It was $1.3 billion during the same period last year, said the Korean embassy in Dhaka in a press release yesterday, citing data from the Korea Trade Association. 

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Between January and November this year, Bangladesh's export to Korea surged 35.8 per cent year-on-year to $498 million.

Korea's export to Bangladesh rose 61.9 per cent to $1.51 billion.

Two-way trade has been stagnant at a level below $1.6 billion for almost a decade after it peaked $1.87 billion in 2011.

Bangladesh's export to the East Asian nation, which reached $100 million in 2007 and $200 million in 2011, had remained stagnant after it hit $300 million in 2013.

But, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh's exports to Korea crossed $400 million in 2019 and recorded $393 million in 2020.

It is expected to go past $500 million by the end of this year. The main export items are garments, sports and leisure items and bronze scraps.

Apparel exports, which accounted for 81 per cent of the total shipment to Korea, were up 32.4 per cent at $442 million, while sports and leisure items rocketed by 92 per cent to $303 million.

The export of bronze scraps rose by 175 per cent to $9.14 million.

Korea's export to Bangladesh was $1.03 billion in 2020. And it might be possible to surpass the level of 2011 by the end of this year, said the press release.

Major export items of Korea are machinery, petrochemical product, steel, and pesticides.

The export of machinery rose 107 per cent to $297 million, reflecting the continued growth of Bangladesh's manufacturing sector.

Petrochemical exports to Bangladesh went up by 64.2 per cent to $279 million, steel exports by 45.7 per cent to $190 million, and pesticides by 68 per cent to $78 million.

In the press release, Lee Jang-keun, ambassador of South Korea to Bangladesh, said: "This year will mark a momentous turning point in the bilateral trade between the two countries overcoming the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic."

He expects the bilateral cooperation will be further strengthened in the coming years.

He hoped that Bangladesh's business sector would take advantage of the preferential trade policy of Korea to Bangladesh.

Korea has been granting duty- and quota-free access to its market for 95 per cent of the products since 2008.