FedEx Express, a subsidiary of the courier delivery services company FedEx, said Monday that South Korean small and midsized enterprises’ export volume in Asia-Pacific countries has increased significantly in recent years, citing its survey. 

According to the survey conducted on some 500 SMEs here from March to
April, 67 percent of them have shipped products to Asia-Pacific countrieincluding China, Japan and Vietnam. Among them, 22 percent mainly exported to Vietnam, an about 13 percent increase from three years ago. 

The company said Vietnam has stepped up as a key player in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of export trade volume, following China and Japan.

For Korean SMEs, sales from exports contributed to 59 percent of their total turnover in 2017, an about 15 percent increase from 2016.

“To better help SMEs to freely ship their products in Korea and overseas, FedEx Express will continue to provide them with customized services and support their businesses,” said Chae Eun-mi, managing director of FedEx Express Korea. 

About 47 percent of industry insiders working at SMEs said low production cost in Asia-Pacific countries is the biggest boon in doing business with them. Others citied a variety of products (36 percent) and the high quality of manufactured goods (36 percent).

Almost half of the surveyed companies said exchange rates and distribution management are obstacles for exporting to Asia-Pacific countries.

(ddd@heraldcorp.com)