Bangladesh-Korea bilateral trade exceeded $3 billion in 2022

The bilateral trade between Korea and Bangladesh reached a new height last year, exceeding 3 billion US dollar, with a nearly 40 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The bilateral trade in 2022 was 3.035 billion dollar, a 38.71% increase from 2021 when it was $2.188 billion, according data from the Korea International Trade Association.

Last year, Bangladesh's export to Korea increased by 2.9 percent to 678 million US dollar from 552 million dollar in the previous year, while Korea's export to Bangladesh rose by 44.1% to 2.357 billion dollar from $1.636 billion in 2021.

Bangladesh's export to Korea has been continuously increasing since it crossed $100 million in 2007 for the first time and reached $200 million in 2011 and 300 million dollar in 2013.

It remained stagnant for about a decade and shrunk by 2.9 percent in 2020 to $393 million due to Covid-19 pandemic.

However, it witnessed a big rebound in 2021 to 552 million dollar and then reached another high of $678 million in 2022.

The main export items of Bangladesh to Korea are RMG, sports and leisure items and bronze scraps. The RMG accounts for 83.2 percent of total export to Korea in 2022, with an increase by 25.8 percent year-on-year basis.

Paper products and favorite food export skyrocketed by 168.6 percent and 165 percent with $3.6 million and $3.1 million, respectively. Export of bronze scrap rose by 41.8% to 17.76 million US dollar.

On the other hand, increase of Korea's export to Bangladesh in 2021 and 2022, was mainly led by the hike of Bangladesh's import of diesel, which rose by 703.8 percent to 972 million dollar in 2022.

Other major export items from Korea to Bangladesh are machinery, petrochemical products, steel and pesticides that saw decrease in imports here.

In a statement, Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-Keun said, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Bangladesh, which will prove to be a turning point in the bilateral ties overcoming the challenges of COvid-19 pandemic and global economic challenges derived from Russian-Ukraine war.

He expected Bangladesh business sector to take advantage of the preferential trade policy of Korea that provides duty and quota free access to the Korean market for 95 percent of Bangladesh products since 2008.

Bangladesh will also provide at least four percent cash incentives for exports to Korea, a non-traditional market.