South Korea’s textile and apparel trade with China continues to be in deficit

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Industrial Research Institute and the Korea Trade Association stated on June 29 that South Korea’s textile and clothing exports to China in 2013 were US$2.73 billion, and the textiles and clothing imports from China were US$6.32 billion, with a deficit of US$6.32 billion. $3.59 billion. Since the first deficit occurred in textile and apparel trade between South Korea and China in 2002, the deficit trend has continued for 12 years. Analysts believe that due to the rapid rise in labor costs in China, Korean companies have moved their factories in China to Southeast Asia, resulting in a significant reduction in the scale of South Korea’s exports of textiles and clothing materials to China, driving the overall export scale of textiles and clothing to shrink. The research institution also stated that the development potential of the Chinese market is huge, and it is recommended that Korean companies get rid of the export model based on textile materials, formulate plans to expand exports based on clothing, and actively use Korean dramas, K-pop and other Korean wave elements to carry out clothing marketing, and provide Lay the foundation for exploring the Chinese clothing market.