Gov't program helps 3,100 SMEs turn into exporters this year

Over 3,100 local firms benefited from the government's offshore marketing support program and achieved their first export this year, the trade ministry here said Thursday.

Cases of successful overseas inroads were reported at a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to examine its support measures announced throughout the year to promote the export sector.

The ministry also reported at the meeting that the number of smart factories intended to revamp the manufacturing sector has topped 2,000 nationwide.

The South Korean government has churned out a number of export-boosting programs, including one to assist overseas marketing campaigns, in order to tackle faltering exports.

Thanks to the overseas marketing support measures, a total of ,128 small- and mid-sized enterprises which were previously focused on the domestic market managed to bag maiden export orders, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

As a result, SMEs accounted for 37.4 percent of the country's total exports of $241.8 billion over the January-June period, up from 35 percent a year ago.

The ministry said it will increase business experts at the country's overseas trade centers, run by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, to intensify the marketing support program.

The government earlier released a plan to foster export firms to focus more on selling consumer goods such as cosmetics rather than intermediate goods like machinery and auto parts as part of its efforts to diversify the country's exports portfolio.

The percentage of consumer goods in the country's total exports edged up to 6.11 percent in the first six months of the year, up from the previous year's 5.5 percent.

"We will do our best to make a turnaround in our exports through diversified exports items and opening up new overseas markets," the trade ministry said in a release. "We will also send trade missions overseas and hold trade fairs in the coming months, along with a nationwide shopping event."

The shopping festival, called "Korea Sale FESTA," is scheduled to take place from Sept 29 to Oct. 31, with major retailers, manufacturers and traditional markets to participate, in a way to draw more foreign travelers and fuel domestic consumption. (Yonhap)