Korea’s economic slowdown and a general drop in demand has put a dent in roughly half of all consumer product manufacturers in the country, a poll showed Wednesday.

The survey of 350 domestic demand oriented companies conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed 47.7 percent of the respondents saying they are feeling the pinch of sluggish economic growth.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent this year, down from 3.8 percent last year and 6.2 percent growth tallied in 2010.

According to the findings, 45.3 percent of the respondents did not experience any changes to the business climate with 7 percent claiming they were better off than before.

Slightly over 77 percent of the manufacturers felt difficult times were fueling tough competition in the market that reduced profit margins.

Of the companies surveyed, 92.7 percent said competition came mostly from domestic small and medium enterprises and large conglomerates, with overseas competition standing at 7.3 percent.

The poll also showed competition being fierce in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, followed by food, clothing and miscellaneous household goods.

The level of competition in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics reached 93.3 percent with numbers standing at 81.7 percent for food and 78.3 percent for the clothing sector.

Of the companies, 20 percent complained of excessive government red tape in the past year, with SMEs struggling harder to cope with the drop in demand than large conglomerates.

Companies called for more state support for consumer product manufacturers, help in expanding into overseas markets and less regulatory oversight, according to the survey. 

(Yonhap News)