South Korean trade minister discusses supply chain at APEC CEO summit

Seoul, Nov 15 (IANS) Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo attended an economic event for business executives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, where he exchanged views on the global supply chain with other participants, his office said on Friday.

Cheong also highlighted that his country sought to gain insights from Peru about preparing for the annual summit of 21 global leaders as Seoul is set to host the 2025 APEC summit in Gyeongju, 275 kilometers southeast of Seoul, reports Yonhap news agency.

During his visit, Cheong also attended an event hosted by the U.S. National Center for APEC, where he met U.S. business leaders, including Antony Cook, corporate vice president of Microsoft.

The two discussed the importance of strengthening bilateral economic ties between South Korea and the United States, particularly on supply chains of major industries, including artificial intelligence chips, the ministry added.

The trade minister also held separate bilateral meetings with counterparts from Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia to explore collaborative strategies for addressing potential changes under the incoming U.S. administration.

Meanwhile, container shipping costs from South Korea to China fell for the first time in nine months in October, the customs agency said on Friday.

The average shipping cost for a 40-foot container from South Korea to China declined 6.9 percent from a month earlier to 767,000 won ($545.36) last month, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.

It marked the first on-month decline since January as the figure had been on the rise for eight straight months from February.

The average shipping costs from South Korea to major partner nations, including the United States, the European Union, Japan and Vietnam, all went down in October from the previous month.

Compared with a year earlier, however, the shipping costs of the major routes climbed on rising shipment volume and the subsequent shortage of ships.

The on-year growth also came as carriers have been forced to suspend transit through the crucial Middle East maritime route due to strikes on ships in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen, which have led to longer shipping time and an increase in shipping costs, officials said.

—IANS

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