South Korea's exports posted a new high for the first half of the year, but when converted to the Korean won, exports were found to have declined.
The South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that the nation's exports amounted to 283.6 billion US dollars in the first half, up 2.6% from the same period last year.
However, when converted to the Korean won, exports were found to have declined 2.6% to 297 trillion won, according to Korea's (KBS WORLD) website.
The figure is a result of the average won-dollar rate that dropped to 1,049.8 won per dollar in this year's first half from 1,103.3 won per dollar posted in the first half of last year.
According to a survey carried out by the Korea International Trade Association on 340 exporting firms in May, 88.5% of the firms surveyed said they suffered low profitability due to the drop in the won-dollar rate. The firms forecast that the break-even point will be 1,045 won per dollar.
Noting that small firms are suffering more than larger firms, the government decided to expand its trade insurance support for small firms to 21 trillion for the second half of the year. During the same period last year, such support stood at 18 trillion won.