South Korea's aluminium bar rods and profiles import volume surges 34% YoY in 2016

According to the data released by the Korea National Statistical Office on December 29, South Korea’s total industrial production increased 1.6 per cent between October and November end after having stood at zero per cent in August, 0.9 per cent in September and -0.4 per cent in October 2016. The mining and manufacturing output, specifically, witnessed a growth of 3.4 per cent, led by automobile (11.4 per cent) and communication and broadcasting equipment (30.6 per cent), while electronic components and oil refining slowed down by 3.0 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. In November, the average capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.0 percentage points to 73.5 per cent. Looking at the aluminium imports, one of the key imports of the South-east Asian economy, the volume has remained fairly the same over the past three years, but the realization of value has risen year-over-year.

South Korea imported 13,323.5 tonnes of aluminium bar rods and profiles in 2014, which took a dip in 2015, to total at 11,608.4 tonnes, down 12.8 per cent from the previous year. In 2016, the total volume of aluminium bar rods and profiles import is estimated to rise again to 15,568.14 tonnes, up 34.11 per cent from the previous year.


Value-wise, aluminium bar rods and profiles import in South Korea has witnessed a steady year-over-year growth since 2014. The total import value of the specific aluminium product category in 2014 was US$79.5 million. In 2015, the value surged to reach US$0.21 billion, up 164.2 per cent from the previous year. In 2016, the total aluminium bar rods and profiles import in South Korea is again estimated to rise to total at US$0.32 billion.


South Korea imported 1370.14 tonnes of aluminium bar rods and profiles from China in 2016, till date. Other top aluminium products supplying countries of the year remained USA (3810.6 tonnes), Australia (541.3 tonnes), Bahrain (3928.1 tonnes), and Japan (868.7 tonnes).

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South Korea is currently going through a politically unstable situation and is almost on the verge of facing an economic slide. It is feared that the political impasse will hamper the country's ability to cope with the pressing economic and security challenges, at least until the next presidential election. The export scenario is also dwindling. It remains to be seen what 2017 has in store for South Korea and how Seoul restructures its policies to overcome the hurdles in days to come.