S. Korea's auto trade surplus declines in 2014

(MENAFN) South Korea's trade surplus in automobiles decreased 4.8 percent to USD35.98 billion last year from the year before due to a surge in domestic demand for foreign-made cars, a government showed, QNA reported.

The report by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) showed the country's car exports hitting USD43.95 billion or 3.02 million units in 2014, up a marginal 1.6 percent from the year before. Imports, in contrast, grew 45.4 percent to USD7.97 billion, or 256.000 vehicles.

The growth caused the trade surplus to decline 4.8 percent last year from USD37.79 billion tallied in 2013.

"The slow pace of export growth is linked to local carmakers expanding production lines abroad," the customs service said.