South Korea's exports of agricultural products dropped 8 percent from a year earlier in February as shipments of both fresh foodstuff and processed goods dwindled, the government said Monday.
Outbound shipments of farmed goods amounted to $420.1 million last month, compared with $456.5 million in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The drop was mostly attributed to large falls in shipments to Japan and the United States.
In the case of Japan, the weak Japanese currency continued to erode the price competitiveness of South Korean products, a ministry official said.
Shipments to Japan, the world's single largest market for South Korean foodstuff, plunged 16.2 percent on-year to $86.2 million last month.
Exports to the U.S. slipped 7.8 percent on-year to $43.1 million due mostly to a labor strike at major western ports in the U.S. that has delayed the unloading of South Korean products there, the ministry official said.
Shipments to China also dropped 7.8 percent on-year to $57.3 million while exports to European Union countries spiked 68.7 percent to $34.8 million.
By product, shipments of fresh foodstuff, such as vegetables and fruits, plunged 23.1 percent on-year to $63.2 million with shipments of processed goods shrinking 4.7 percent to $356.9 million. (Yonhap)
