South Korea’s exports dropped 2 percent in April from a year earlier, extending their on-year fall for the fifth consecutive month due to a drawn-out slump in chips, government data showed on May 1.

Outbound shipments came to $48.86 billion for April, down from the $49.85 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 

Imports, on the other hand, moved up 2.4 percent over the cited period to $44.74 billion, the ministry added.

Korea’s trade surplus came to $4.12 billion in April, marking 87 straight months in which the country‘s exports have exceeded imports.

The overall decrease was attributable to the falling price of chips and weak demand, with the sluggish Chinese economy also weighing down on South Korea’s outbound shipments, the ministry said.

When chip-related factors are excluded, Korea‘s exports for April moved up 0.8 percent, the ministry said. Automobiles, ships and machinery products enjoyed solid growth on overseas demand.

The ministry said the decelerating pace of the country’s outbound shipments has eased to some degree, which may signal a slight improvement down the road. The country’s exports dropped 8.2 percent from a year earlier in March and 11.4 percent in February.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)