South Korea’s bio industry has grown over 50 percent in just five years, largely on exports that grew at an equally fast rate, the trade ministry said Tuesday.
The overall output of the country’s bio industry amounted to nearly 7.13 trillion won ($6.65 billion) in 2012, up 58 percent from 4.51 trillion won in 2008, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The 2012 figure also marks an 11.5 percent surge from 6.39 trillion won in the previous year. The ministry attributed the growth mostly to a large increase in exports, which rose at an annual average of 12.6 percent over the cited period to 3.6 trillion won in 2012.
This growth rate far surpassed the average 8.2 percent growth of overall exports over the 2008-2012 period, it noted.
With an expansion of the market, the number of people employed in the bio industry also grew from 35,718 in 2011 to 37,778 in 2012, posting a 5.8 percent growth.
“The ministry plans to continue strengthening its support for the development of technology, human resources and overseas markets that will meet the specific needs of each company,” it said in a press release. (Yonhap)
