S. Korea's farm machinery exports soar 53 pct in H1

SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's exports of agricultural machinery soared 53 percent on-year to a new half-year high in the first six months of the year, the government said Wednesday.
The country shipped US$342 million worth of machines used on farms in the January-June period, compared with $223 million worth of products shipped overseas in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The ministry said farm machinery exports will likely reach a new annual high of $520 million this year, up more than 20 percent from $433 million in 2010.
"The ministry will work to set up a new support system for the farm machinery industry in the second half of the year to help increase the country's exports to $1 billion by 2015," it said in a press release.
By country, the United States was the largest importer of South Korean farm machines with 39.3 percent of South Korea's exports shipped to the country in the first half, followed by China and Japan, in that order.
South Korea's exports of agricultural machines increased steadily at over 15 percent a year since 2000 when its exports stood at $134 million, the ministry said.