According to industry data compiled by the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), the South Korean textile sector may suffer trade deficit for the second time in the row due to the cheap Chinese products flooding the market. As per the data, the textile industry witnessed a decrease of 4.8 per cent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year to make US $ 12.4 billion and imports of clothing and textiles dearer by one per cent. The imports in the country reached US $ 13.52 billion over the period of January to November in 2016.

If the scenario continues to remain the same in the last month of the gone-by year, imports may exceed the earlier record of US $ 14.65 billion in 2014. The textile industry of South Korea has already logged a trade deficit of US $ 1.09 billion exceeding last year’s deficit of US $ 157 million by a huge margin. High labour costs and competition from foreign countries like China affected the industry’s profitability.