South Korea's November imports of technically specified natural rubber, or TSR, rose nearly 6% year on year to 29,608 mt, customs data released December 15 showed.
More than 43% of total imports, or 12,894 mt, came from Thailand, compared with 11,359 mt in the corresponding month of 2010.
The higher South Korean imports came amid higher vehicle sales to overseas markets.
For instance, Hyundai sold 49,610 vehicles in the US in November, up 22% year on year. Meanwhile, the combined sales of South Korean auto makers stood at 713,329 units in November, compared with 634,303 units the year before.
SOUTH KOREA'S NOV TSR IMPORTS (mt) 2011 2010 Thailand 12,894 11,359 Indonesia 11,062 10,194 Malaysia 3,419 4,070 Vietnam 1,352 1,568 Myanmar 201 - Cambodia 217 583 Philippines 463 151 Total 29,608 27,935
