South Korea crosses the 70% mark toward $1 trillion in exports, nearing historic fourth-place milestone

South Korea has already surpassed last year’s record export total, putting the country within sight of a historic $1 trillion annual milestone.

Cumulative exports reached $709.4 billion by 1 p.m. on Sept. 5, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. That exceeded last year’s full-year figure of $709.3 billion and broke the previous record 117 days earlier than last year, after just 248 days.

The country needs another $290.6 billion to reach $1 trillion. With about 117 days remaining in the year, that would require average daily exports of roughly $2.48 billion, or about $75.6 billion a month.

Exports averaged about $86.66 billion a month from January through August. Even if the monthly average falls by about $11 billion during the remaining period, the current pace would still keep the target within reach. If South Korea gets there, it would become the fourth country after the United States, China and Germany to record annual exports above $1 trillion.