The Korea International Trade Association(KITA) has forecast that South Korea’s exports will post a one-point-eight percent growth next year. 

The agency issued the projection in an assessment and outlook report released on Wednesday. 

KITA projected that exports in 2025 will climb one-point-eight percent to 697 billion U.S. dollars and imports will surge two-and-a-half percent to 654 billion dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 43 billion dollars. 

The association forecast that next year, outbound shipments of semiconductors will climb two-point-two percent, while exports of wireless communication devices will increase nine-point-six percent and ship exports will grow nine-point-four percent. 

However, exports of automobiles, which set records every year for the past three years, are expected to slip one-point-nine percent in 2025 due to the reverse base effect and the expansion of overseas production. 

This year, exports are set to hit a record of 685 billion dollars by the end of the year, thanks to brisk shipments of semiconductors and automobiles. 

KITA noted that outbound shipments of semiconductors jumped more than 47 percent in the first ten months of the year compared with the same period last year.