Exports increased more than ten percent in the first 20 days of March on the back of rising exports of semiconductors.

According to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service on Thursday, the country’s outbound shipments marked 34-point-one billion U.S. dollars in the cited period, up eleven-point-two percent year-on-year.

Average daily exports also increased eleven-point-two percent with the number of working days the same as last year at 14-and-a-half days.

Exports of semiconductors and ships soared 46-point-five percent and 370 percent, respectively, from the same period last year, while shipments of automobiles slipped seven-point-seven percent. 

Imports dropped six-point-three percent from the same period last year to around 34-point-eight billion dollars during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of 711 million dollars.