In spite of the developments in Libya and the Great East Japan Earthquake in early 2011, Chungnam's exports made a huge increase. According to the provincial office's report, Chungnam's total exports during the first quarter (January to March) recorded 13.829 billion dollars, which is 2.115 billion dollars (18.1%) more than the 11.714 billion dollars from the same period of the previous year. Its trade surplus in particular amounted to 6.267 billion dollars, which is 299 million dollars more than the 5.968 billion dollars from the same period of the previous year.

Major Export Items and Markets
Chungnam's major export items include the following: ▲ semiconductors, which account for 30% of its total exports and recorded 4.268 billion dollars during the first quarter of 2011, which increased by 28.2% from the same period of the previous year; ▲ flat panel displays, whose exports amounted to 3.595 billion dollars, which decreased by 7.5% from the same period of the previous year; ▲ petroleum products increased by 60.5% to 835 million dollars; ▲ computers increased by 15.2% to 542 million dollars; ▲ synthetic resins increased by 18.6% to 532 million dollars; ▲ petrochemical intermediate materials increased by 12.8% to 434 million dollars; and ▲ automobiles increased by 105.1% to 413 million dollars.  

Chungnam's major export markets are as follows: mainland China came in first at 5.337 billion dollars, followed by Hong Kong at 2.156 billion dollars, Japan at 1.039 billion dollars, the U. S. A. at 960 million dollars, Taiwan at 899 million dollars, and Mexico at 570 million dollars, in the order.
As for the major export markets's increase and decrease rates, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico increased by 16.4%, 58.6%, 56.8%, 46.7%, and 19.3%, respectively, whereas the U. S. A. decreased by 17.7%.
The first quarter of 2011 also witnessed a huge increase in exports by small- and medium-sized companies, whose exports increased by 36.7% to 2.691 billion dollars from 1.970 billion dollars from the same period of the previous year.

 

Dow Chemical of the United States Making an Investment of 36 Million Dollars in Chungnam for Its “High-Tech Materials Plant”
A world-class chemical corporation, Dow Chemical of the United States decided to build another plant for producing high-tech materials in Cheonan, Chungnam Province.
Mr. An Heejung, Provincial Governor of Chungnam, signed an investment MOU with Mr. Jerome A. Peribere, Chairman of Dow Chemical, at the headquarters of Dow Chemical in Philadelphia, United States.  

According to the MOU, Dow Chemical will construct a new plant of 39,000㎡ for manufacturing OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) and core display materials in Cheonan City, Chungnam via Rohm & Haas Electronic Materials Korea, a Korean investment firm. Dow Chemical plans to invest a total of 36 million dollars by 2013 including 22 million dollars this year. Construction will begin in June, 2011, and the plant will start operations in 2012.
No. 46 on the Fortune 500 in 2010, Dow Chemical had annual sales of 53.7 billion dollars in 2010 and produces about 5,000 items with some 50,000 employees working at 188 plants in 35 countries.
Dow Chemical made its first investment of 177 million dollars (LCD film) in Chungnam in September, 2007 and additional investments in it including 76 million dollars (LCD parts) in 2008 and 45 million dollars (LED parts) in 2010.

 

Chungnam Holding a Special Trade Show in L.A. for Its Cultural Products
Chungnam made sales worth 385,000 dollars at “Special Exhibition and Trade Show for Chungnam’s High-Quality Cultural Products 2011” held in the United States. In addition to the sales, it also provided export counseling worth 1,450,000 dollars, thus further raising future export possibilities.  

Chungnam’s prominent manufacturers of cultural products participated in the show held at L.A. Galleria Department Store from March 25 to April 3, 2011. The manufacturers of traditional Korean musical instruments made the biggest sales at 100,000 dollars at the show, which attracted visitors by doing promotional activities for the upcoming World Ginseng Expo Geumsan.
Mr. An Heejung, Provincial Governor of Chungnam, visited the department store during his American tour and promoted the remarkable culture of Chungnam by selling the cultural products himself for about an hour, attracting lots of attention.

 

Chungnam's Trade Mission to North America Concluding 350,000-Dollar Export Contracts
Chungnam’s “Trade Mission to North America” was dispatched to the United States on March 28, 2011 to enter its niche markets and concluded export contracts worth 350,000 dollars.
Five small- and medium-sized companies each specializing in ultrasound obesity treatment, interior textiles, medicine, beauty products, and upscale package boxes joined the mission and explored their export possibility in talks with local buyers in Vancouver, Canada and New York, United States.  

Chungnam’s Trade Mission to North America aims to prepare the province for the ratification of the Korea-America FTA, which has been drifting since its conclusion in 2007, and to explore the entire North American market with a focus on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that came into effect in 1994. Chungnam plans to dispatch the Mission 13 times this year.

Chungnam’s Trade Mission Set Out to Explore the Markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
Chungnam Province began its export counseling service through its Trade Mission to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe in 2011. Dispatched to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Amman, Jordan, and Zurich, Switzerland from March 4 to 12, 2011, the Mission set out to tap into the oil money boosted by the recovering construction business in the Middle East and rising oil prices and to support the products manufactured by the small- and medium-sized companies within the province with a focus on the effects of the Korea-EU FTA.
The Mission dispatched to HoChiMinh City, Vietnam, Bangkok, Thailand, and Manila, the Philippines from February 23 to March 4, 2011 concluded contracts worth 800,000 dollars.
Chungnam’s export companies were able to meet with quality buyers through the Mission operated in the Middle East and Europe where consumer preference for Korean goods has been on the rise due to the influences of the Korean Wave in recent years.