South Korea's steel export was down by 4.3% in 2013, the first time within 4 years. According to Korea Iron and Steel Association, the steel exports totaled at 29.2 million tons in 2013, dropped by 4.3% from 30.5 million tons a year ago. An official of the association said that although major steelmakers such as POSCO and Hyundai have expanded their production capacity, the economic slowdown from home and abroad as well as unstable supply of electricity hurt the steel sector. The last annual export decrease was back to 2009, when the amount edged down 1.44% to reach 20.5 million tons. On the other hand, the steel production of South Korea in 2013 is estimated at 69 million tons, down by 4.2% year-on-year.
