Exports fell about 15 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July.

According to tentative data from the Korea Customs Service on Friday, the country’s outbound shipments marked 31-point-23 billion dollars in the cited period, down 15-point-two percent from a year earlier.

Average daily exports also dropped by 15-point-two percent with the number of working days the same as last year at 15 and a half.

Exports of automobiles rose 27-point-nine percent, while semiconductors and petroleum products slipped 35-point-four percent and 48-point-seven percent on-year, respectively.

Outbound shipments to China and the United States fell 21-point-two percent and seven-point-three percent each, while exports to India and Hong Kong rose three-point-six percent and 21-point-one percent, respectively.

Imports dropped 28 percent on-year to 32-point-59 billion dollars during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of one-point-36 billion dollars, smaller than the shortfall of one-point-62 billion dollars logged a month earlier.