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Korea Merchandise Imports

Korea Merchandise Imports

Merchandise Imports in Korea

Merchandise imports in Korea were worth USD 731 billion in 2022, compared to USD 516 billion ten years earlier, and averaged USD 521 billion over the last decade. For more imports information, visit our dedicated page.

Korea Merchandise Imports Chart

Note: This chart displays Imports (USD billion) for Korea from 2014 to 2023.
Source: Korea Customs Service.

Korea Merchandise Imports Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 535 503 468 615 731
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 11.9 -6.0 -7.1 31.5 18.9

Merchandise exports increase at a quicker pace in January

Merchandise exports jumped 18.0% over the same month last year in January, on the heels of December’s 5.0% increase. January’s outturn marked the strongest growth since May 2022 and slightly exceeded market expectations. Adjusted for working day differences, exports rose 5.7%. Meanwhile, merchandise imports contracted 7.8% in annual terms in January (December: -10.8% yoy), marking the strongest result since March 2023. As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 0.3 billion surplus in January (December 2020: USD 4.5 billion surplus; January 2023: USD 12.7 billion deficit). Lastly, the trend pointed up, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 2.7 billion surplus in January, compared to the USD 10.2 billion deficit in December.

Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Korean merchandise imports projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable merchandise imports forecast available for Korean merchandise imports.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Korean merchandise imports projections.

Want to get access to the full dataset of Korean merchandise imports forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.

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