Export, which accounts for about half of the economy, amounted to 10.3 billion U.S. dollars in the June 1-10 period, down 16.6 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.
Import reduced 10.8 percent to 12.5 billion U.S. dollars in the cited period, sending the trade deficit to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars.
The daily average export was 1.71 billion U.S. dollars in the same period, down from 2.06 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier.
The export reduction was led by weak demand for locally-made chips, of which export tumbled 30.8 percent in the period.
Oil product export diminished 20.1 percent, but home appliances shipment logged a double-digit expansion.
Export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, shrank 26.7 percent, and those to the United States and the European Union declined 7.6 percent and 17 percent each. Shipment to Japan sank 20.3 percent, but export to Canada gained 16.5 percent.
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