Yonhap News Agency reported on December 30 that according to data from the Korea Trade Association, South Korea’s fiber and apparel exports from January to November 2016 were US$12.426 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.8%, while imports during the same period were US$13.522 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.0%. South Korea’s current fiber and apparel trade deficit is US$1.096 billion, which has exceeded the deficit for the entire year of 2015. The main reason is that Korean fiber and garment factories have moved to China, Vietnam and other places due to rising labor costs. In addition, mid-to-low-price clothing produced in China and other countries has entered the Korean market, and the import volume continues to increase.
South Korea’s fiber and apparel industries are gradually shifting their focus to the production of high value-added textiles such as tire cords, microfiber cleaning cloths, and glass fiber. The trade association said that South Korea’s fiber industry has a global market share of about 5%, which is very important. Due to labor cost issues, dominance in sewing, clothing and other fields has been transferred to countries such as China and Vietnam. South Korea must continue to develop production technologies for high value-added products such as spandex and upgrade its industrial structure. South Korea’s fiber and apparel exports have experienced trade deficits for two consecutive years
