Business Desk :
Bilateral trade volume between Bangladesh and South Korea is expected to reach a record high in the year 2022.
Between January and November this year, the trade volume recorded $2.014 billion, a 54.6% increase from the same period of last year which was $1.303 billion, according to the statistics by the Korea Trade Association and a press release issued by the Embassy of the Korean Republic.
Bangladesh’s export increased by 35.8% to $498 million, from $393 million in 2020.
South Korea’s export to Bangladesh rose by 61.9% with $1.51 billion from $1.033 billion in 2020.
Bilateral trade has been stagnant at a level below $1.6 billion for almost a decade after it peaked at $1.872 billion in 2011.
Bangladesh’s export to Korea, which reached over $100 million in 2007 and $200 million in 2011, remained stagnant after it reached over $300 million in 2013.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh’s export to Korea, however, crossed over $400 million in 2019 and recorded $393 million in 2020. It is expected to go over $500 million by the end of this year, said a press release
The main export items of Bangladesh to Korea are garments, sports and leisure items and bronze scraps.
Garment exports, which account for 81% of total export to Korea, increased by 32.4% than the previous year with $442 million, while sports and leisure items skyrocketed by 92% with $303 million. Export of bronze scrap rose by 175% with $9.14 million.
Korea’s export to Bangladesh, which peaked in 2011 at $1.63 billion has decreased to approximately $1.2 billion for many years and further deepened to $1.03 billion in 2020.
It might be even possible to surpass the level of 2011 by the end of this year. Major export items of Korea to Bangladesh are machinery, petrochemical product, steel and pesticides.
Export of machinery rose by 107% to $297 million, which reflects the continued growth of Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector.
Petrochemical products increased by 64.2% with $279 million. Steel export grew by 45.7% with $190 million and pesticides by 68% with $78 million.
South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-keun said that the year 2022 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.
Lee Jang-keun hopes that the Bangladesh business sector takes advantage of the preferential trade policy of Korea to Bangladesh, which provides duty and quota-free access to the Korean market by 95% of the product since 2008.
