S. Korea’s exports of virus test kits reach US$2.3 bln this year
2020/12/04 10:31
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s exports of coronavirus test kits amounted to US$2.3 billion in the first 11 months of the year due to soaring demand amid the deepening pandemic, data showed Friday.
Exports of test kits hit a record high of $546 million in November, up from $412 million the previous month, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Agency and the Korea Customs Service.
The country has shipped 497 million test kits valued at $2.27 billion to some 170 countries around the world since early this year, the data showed.
Demand for South Korea’s virus test kits shot up on the back of the country’s success in flattening the virus curve.
By country, exports to India accounted for 15.6 percent of the total shipments, followed by Germany with 13.2 percent and Netherland with 9.6 percent.
Since July, India, the country that reported the second-largest virus cases globally, has been the biggest buyer of Korean test kits.
Globally, more than 60 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus since the first case was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.’
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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