Korea's export growth rate rank falls 24 notches in one year

South Korea's exports -- the main driving force of the economy -- have been on a downward spiral for the longest period ever.
So it's not surprising that the country's rank among OECD members in terms of export growth rate has fallen as well.
And as our Kim Min-ji reports,... conditions may not get better anytime soon.
South Korea's ranking in terms of export growth has plummeted over the last twelve months.
According to the OECD,... Korea sat in fourth place among 31 member countries in January last year,... despite exports falling zero-point-nine percent from a year ago.
Export conditions continued to worsen pulling down Korea's ranking with it... and in January this year,... when export's posted their biggest fall in six years,... the country sat at 28th place -- down a staggering 24 notches from a year ago.

Although Korea's exports continued their downward spiral in May,... the pace of decline slowed to its lowest level so far this year.
The government says there are signs that exports are on a recovery track -- for instance, the volume of exports rose for the second straight month in May,... and the average daily export value also hit a high for this year.

But experts aren't so optimistic -- as external conditions are far from ideal.
Oil prices may not pick up anytime soon as last week's OPEC meeting on lowering production failed to reach any substantial agreement.
On top of that,... the U.S. Federal Reserve could hike rates as early as this month and Britain might vote to leave the EU.
A combination of those could throw the global economy off track for a while.

"Although some sectors may see a pickup in exports,... overall its doesn't seem as though conditions will get better soon. Despite government efforts,... the problems lie with external economic conditions, and that's not something the government can fix."

Experts stress the need for efforts from individual companies as well.
They suggest local firms try and diversify their exports and foster new growth engines by ramping up investment in R&D.
A failure to do so could mean more gloom in the months ahead.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.

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