S. Korea's H1 trade deficit with Japan shrinks following March quake

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade deficit with Japan shrank sharply during the first half as its import growth from the country slowed in the wake of the deadly earthquake there, customs data showed Sunday. South Korea's trade shortfalls with Japan amounted to US$15.2 billion during the January-June period, down 19.1 percent from the same period a year earlier when the deficit stood at $18.1 billion, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. Korea's exports to Japan totaled $18.97 billion, up 48.5 percent from a year earlier, while its imports from the country grew 10.6 percent to $34.25 billion over the same period, the data showed. "The main factor behind the narrowed shortfalls is a slowdown in import growth from Japan after the March 11 earthquake devastated the eastern part of the country, causing much of the production facilities there to suspend operations," a customs agency official said. Automobiles were among the major import items significantly affected by the quake-triggered production disruptions. South Korea's imports of cars from Japan came to $890 million during the first half, down from $1.02 billion tallied a year earlier, the data showed.