S. Korea's bio exports, production hit all-time high in 2022: data

Production and exports from South Korea's bio industry reached a record high in 2022 on growing global demand for medical appliances and medicine, the industry ministry said Thursday, Yonhap reports.

The country's bio production added 9.7 percent on-year last year to reach a record high of 23.47 trillion won (US$17.76 billion), according to the data by the industry ministry.

The sector has enjoyed double-digit annual growth in recent years, with the average growth rate over the past five years coming to 22 percent.

In 2018, production came to 10.61 trillion won and rose to 12.66 trillion won in 2019 and further to 17.2 trillion won in 2020. The figure for 2021 came to 21.4 trillion won.

Bio exports also advanced 12.5 percent on-year in 2022 to come to 13.52 trillion won.

Of the total, shipments of medical appliances accounted for 28.6 percent, or the largest share, followed by biomedicine with 27.7 percent and bio food with 20.9 percent.

Over the past five years, the country reported an average of 26.7 percent export growth from 5.24 trillion won in 2018 to 10.05 trillion won in 2020.

The industry had around 61,100 workers in 2020, up 7.8 percent on-year, and bio companies made investments worth 4.13 trillion won combined last year, which marked a 26.2 percent on-year increase, the ministry said.

"The bio industry has achieved a marked development in 2022 amid the country's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government will boost investment in such future fields as advanced bio, digital therapeutics and synthetic biology," a ministry official said.