South Korea’s gross domestic product in the agricultural sector ranked 22nd in the world in 2012, down four notches from 2009, data showed Sunday, apparently weakened by free trade agreements.
According to the data compiled by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the country’s GDP in the agricultural and fishery sector came to $27.3 billion in 2012, compared with $21.1 billion three years earlier.
The decline in the rankings is attributable to South Korea’s efforts to sign FTAs with more countries, which weighed down the local primary industries that lack price competitiveness, the institute said.
South Korea’s GDP in the agricultural and fishery sector may lose ground further in the future as the country awaits to implement another FTA with Asia’s No. 1 economy, China, it added.
In 2012, China had the highest agricultural GDP at $829.7 billion, trailed by India with $302.3 billion and the United States with $198.5 billion.
South Korea’s arable land came to 1.73 million hectares in 2012, the 95th-largest in the world and far lower than the global leader, India, with 169 million hectares. The U.S. and China came next with 157.7 million and 122.5 million hectares, respectively. (Yonhap)
