Seoul, July 8 (IANS) South Korea’s exports of biopharmaceutical products are expected to post the highest level on record in the first quarter this year, government data showed on Wednesday.

The product category’s estimated exports for the first six months of the year was $4.5 billion, up 15.3 percent, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, reports Yonhap news agency.

They accounted for 86.5 percent of all pharmaceutical exports of $5.2 billion in the first half.

Biopharmaceutical exports have risen from $4.9 billion in 2023 to $7.6 billion in 2025. Should the trend continue, the ministry expects this year to post the highest amount of exports on record.

South Korea-produced biopharmaceuticals were exported to a total of 163 countries as of June, with exports to Switzerland the highest at $770 million.

The United States followed next with $610 million, and Hungary with $600 million. France was included among the top 10 export countries for the first time as of the first half, with outbound shipments recording $160 million.

By product type, exports of recombinant protein drugs were the highest at $3.97 billion, followed by toxins and antitoxins at $280 million, and vaccines at $120 million.

The ministry said it will make efforts so that the bio industry can carry on its export momentum in the second half of the year through regulatory innovation, information sharing and active trade talks with major importers.

Meanwhile, Seoul shares erased some of their earlier losses late Wednesday morning on institutional buying, as investors continued to reassess the next phase of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade.

After opening 2.7 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) pared earlier losses, trading down 151.89 points, or 1.98 percent, at 7,504.42 as of 11:20 a.m.

Local stocks declined in line with overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.16 percent.

Institutions bought a net 1.02 trillion won (US$674 million) worth of stocks, while foreigners and individuals sold a net 467.27 billion won and 561.48 billion won, respectively.

—IANS

na/