SEJONG, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean exports in the first 20 days of January fell 2.7 percent year-on-year, customs data showed Saturday

The Korea Customs Agency said in its preliminary data that the country's exports from January 1 to January 20 amounted to $33.62 billion, down 2.7 percent from the same period last year.

e country's exports of chips, which is a major export product, declined by 34.1% year-on-year in the first 20 days of January, and exports of steel, precision machinery, and home appliances fell by 11.2%, 9.9%, and 47.5%, during the same period. , respectively.

On the other hand, exports of passenger cars, petroleum products, mobile communications devices, and ships increased by 45.7%, 18.8%, 19.7%, and 116.3%, respectively.

By destination, exports to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, declined by 24.4%, decreased to Vietnam and Taiwan by 13.3% and 27.5%, respectively, while they rose to the United States, the European Union and Japan by 18.1%, 16.7 and 3.3%. % respectively.

As for Korean imports, their value rose by 9.3 percent year-on-year to $43.88 billion in the first 20 days of January. Imports of crude oil, gas, coal and petroleum products increased by 11.3%, 14.1%, 40.5% and 12.2%, respectively.

Thus, the country recorded a trade deficit of 10.26 billion dollars, up from 5.58 billion dollars in the same period last year, and also from 6.37 billion dollars in the same period last month.