South Korea’s base oil export volume jumped 27% in December, and the declared value of the oils exported was up 29%, according to government data released this week.
For full-year 2023, the country exported 1% less base oil exports, and their reported value decreased 9%.
The volume of base oil exported was 381,108 tons in December, compared to 300,083 tons in the same month of 2022. That was the fourth-highest export volume in 2023. Monthly volumes ranged from 259,281 in July to 445,926 tons in February.
For the full year, South Korea exported 4.19 million tons of base oil, down from 4.22 million tons in 2022.
The reported value of the oils exported from the country was $448.2 million in December, up from $348 million in the same month of 2022. That was the second-highest value for a month, behind $475.7 million in February. The lowest declared value for a month was $290.8 million in July.
For all of 2023, the declared value of base oil exports was $4.7 billion, compared to $5.1 billion in 2022.
The volume of base oil imported into the country declined 12% to 18,189 tons in December.
The volume of base oil imported into South Korea during 2023 fell 24% to 277,425 tons, compared to 363,170 tons. That was the fourth-lowest import volume for a month in 2023. The low mark of 14,639 tons was reported in May and the high mark of 34,321 tons in May.
The declared value of base oil imported decreased 6% to $20.5 million. That was the second-lowest last year, ahead of 16,012 tons imported in May. The peak of $40.3 million occurred in June.
In 2023, the value of base oil imported into the country dropped 27% to $329.9 million, compared to $451.4 million.