Hunan's imports and exports with South Korea totaled 21.18 billion CNY in the first 11 months of 2025, marking a 5% increase year on year. South Korea ranked as Hunan's fifth-largest trading partner. Specifically, Hunan's imports from South Korea amounted to 10.76 billion CNY, while its exports to South Korea was 10.42 billion CNY, said the Changsha Customs Authority on January 6, 2026.

Mechanical and electrical products accounted for half of bilateral trade. During the January-November period last year, Hunan's imports and exports of these products with South Korea grew 25.2% to 12.29 billion CNY, accounting for 58% of the total. On the import side, Hunan saw robust demand for electronic components, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and medical instruments and devices from South Korea. Their import values rose 42.7%, 66.6%, and 72% respectively, meeting the development needs of the province's high-end manufacturing and healthcare sectors. On the export side, Hunan's competitive edge in mechanical and electrical products continued to strengthen globally. Hunan's exports of home appliances, packaging machinery, and automatic data processing equipment to South Korea showed remarkable growth, surging 107%, 181.2%, and 560.2% respectively.

Both sides enjoyed further cooperation potential in high-tech products. In the first 11 months of 2025, Hunan's imports of computer-integrated manufacturing technology and aerospace-related products from South Korea soared 63.2% and 2021.3% respectively. The advanced technology imports injected robust momentum into the province's industrial transformation and upgrading. The provincial exports of life science technology and electronic technology products to South Korea grew 59.4% and 24.2% respectively, reflecting the gradual effectiveness of local high-tech achievements transformation.

Exports of agricultural products showed remarkable growth. During the January-November period, Hunan's agricultural exports to South Korea reached 170 million CNY, up 62.1% year on year. Among these, characteristic agricultural products such as vegetables and edible fungi, tea, dried and fresh fruits, and nuts performed exceptionally well, with export values rising 86.3%, 71.4%, and 25.7% respectively. More high-quality local agricultural products gained access to the South Korean market.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn. 

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn