South Korea ranks in the top ten producers of 2 commodities: uranium (#5, 6.5% of world output in 2025), steel (#6, 3.2% of world output in 2025). It is a top-ten exporter of lead (#2, 8.7% of world export value in 2024), zinc (#2, 9.2% of world export value in 2024), lithium (#3, 1.8% of world export value in 2024), steel (#3, 9% of world export value in 2024), silver (#5, 6.2% of world export value in 2024) and more.
Share of world production, 2025. Countries with no reported production are unshaded.
What does South Korea produce?
Commodities where South Korea is a top-ten producer
South Korea's largest commodity exports by value, with share of world exports for each line (CEPII BACI, 2024). Bars show share of world trade in that commodity, not share of the country's exports.
Molybdenum: #1, 13% of world imports, $1.1 billion (2024)
Lithium: #2, 11% of world imports, $426.1 million (2024)
Beef: #3, 6.5% of world imports, $2.4 billion (2024)
Copper: #3, 4.5% of world imports, $4.7 billion (2024)
Corn: #3, 5.5% of world imports, $2.6 billion (2024)
Iron ore: #3, 4.9% of world imports, $7.8 billion (2024)
Natural gas: #3, 7.2% of world imports, $34.1 billion (2024)
Steel: #3, 4.4% of world imports, $3.1 billion (2024)
Coal: #4, 8.6% of world imports, $15.3 billion (2024)
Crude oil: #4, 6.4% of world imports, $84.5 billion (2024)
Graphite: #4, 8.2% of world imports, $44 million (2024)
Plywood: #4, 4% of world imports, $681.8 million (2024)
Pork: #5, 5.5% of world imports, $2.1 billion (2024)
Tin: #5, 7% of world imports, $452.2 million (2024)
Aluminum: #6, 5.1% of world imports, $4 billion (2024)
Mangoes: #6, 3.9% of world imports, $160.6 million (2024)
Shrimp: #6, 3.5% of world imports, $1.1 billion (2024)
Natural rubber: #7, 3.3% of world imports, $557.1 million (2024)
Oranges: #7, 3.6% of world imports, $200.2 million (2024)
Sesame seed: #7, 3.5% of world imports, $278.6 million (2024)
Manganese: #8, 1.4% of world imports, $87.6 million (2024)
Lead: #9, 4.1% of world imports, $354.1 million (2024)
Pineapples: #9, 3% of world imports, $85.4 million (2024)
Wool: #9, 1.1% of world imports, $29.7 million (2024)
Cobalt: #10, 1.5% of world imports, $69.1 million (2024)
Jute: #10, 1.2% of world imports, $2.5 million (2024)
Sources: FAOSTAT (crops and livestock), USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (minerals), Energy Institute Statistical Review (energy) for production; CEPII BACI for trade. Ranks count only the commodities on this site.
Downloads and citation
This country's rankings as JSON. Cite as: Commodity Origins, "What does South Korea produce and export?", https://commodityorigins.com/countries/KOR/ (CC BY 4.0).