S Korea Aug petchem exports grow 10.4% YoY on higher demand

24 September 2010 06:38  [Source: ICIS news]

By Nurluqman Suratman

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korean petrochemicals exports grew 10.4% year on year in August to $2.75bn (€2.06bn) on higher global demand for the country’s industrial products and a low base-year growth figure in 2009, an analyst said on Friday.

Overall exports from the country’s industrial sector, which includes petrochemical and crude oil products, gained support from recent improvements in the global economy, said Lee Sung-Kwong, chief economist at brokerage firm Shinhan Investment Corp in Seoul.

Exports of crude oil products had climbed 22.3% year on year in August to $2.71bn, Lee said.

South Korean exports of naphtha rose 23.4% to 362,404 tonnes in August, while that of benzene grew 4.51% to 103,639 tonnes on a year-on-year basis, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). (please see table below)

Exports of plasticised polyvinyl chloride (PVC) almost tripled to 1,890 tonnes in August, while exports of orthoxylene rose 78% year on year to 17,451 tonnes, the data showed.

Exports of polyethylene (PE) rose 6.8% year on year to 106,861 tonnes, while that of low density PE (LDPE) rose 18.5% to 23,258 tonnes, said KITA.

Meanwhile, exports of methyl methacrylate (MMA) rose 5% year on year to 1,235 tonnes, while that of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) dropped by 2.4% to 8,983 tonnes, it added.

However, the year-on-year growth in exports from South Korea were expected to dip slightly in September as compared to August, because of the differences in growth rates a year earlier, Lee said.

“We estimate that the increase rate in September would be lower as the country posted a growth rate of minus 20.9% in August 2009, which was much lower than the minus 9.4% in September [last year],” he said.

“But in terms of absolute numbers, we expect the total export figure in September to increase from August,” Lee said.

The export figure of automobile parts grew 79.5% year on year in August, while shipments of LCDs (liquid crystal displays) increased by 68.2%, according to the analyst.

Meanwhile, semiconductor exports went up by 59.6%, Lee said.

The country’s overall exports in August grew 29.6% year on year to $37.53bn, he added.

“South Korean exports are now largely dependent on the global market situation and there is no cyclical pattern to be seen,” Lee said.

“But Korean exports have global competitiveness and can overcome any slowdown in the global economy,” he added.

Overall exports from the country were expected to grow by 25.3% in 2010 to $456bn, as compared to the minus 13.9% year-on-year growth rate in 2009, according to Lee.

Source: KITA

($1 = €0.75)

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By: Nurluqman Suratman

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