Seoul: South Korea's exports fell 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first 20 days of April, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments totaled US$33.87 billion from April 1 to April 20, compared to $35.75 billion in the same period the previous year, as reported by the Korea Customs Service.
According to Yonhap News Agency, imports also saw a decline, decreasing by 11.8 percent year-on-year to $34 billion during the same timeframe. This decline in imports resulted in a trade deficit of $1 billion for the period.
In contrast, March saw a different trend with exports rising 3.1 percent from a year earlier, reaching $58.3 billion. This marked the second consecutive month of export growth, providing a brief respite before the downturn observed in early April.