The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said exports through last month rose for the 10th consecutive month and a trade surplus was posted for the 14th straight month. Shown is Pier 7 of Busan New Port opened on April 5 in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

By Gil Kyuyoung

The nation's 10th consecutive month of export growth has given the economy 14 straight months of trade surplus.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Aug. 26 said this in a meeting on inspecting export conditions for each major item and discussing methods to expand exports. 

Last month saw the 10th straight month of export growth, with the cumulative figure at USD 392.5 billion, up 9.8% year on year.

The trade balance also stayed in the black for 14 consecutive months. The surplus for the period ending last month was USD 26.8 billion, nearly triple the trade deficit of USD 10.3 billion for all of last year.

By main item, overseas shipments of semiconductors, the country's main export, soared 52% to USD 76.9 billion over the period. Those of information and technology products jumped 41% to USD 102.3 billion.

Record-high performances were seen by cars, which came in at No. 2 with USD 42.4 billion (up 2%), and third-place general machinery with USD 31.1 billion (up 0.2%). Key export items such as ships and petroleum products and petrochemicals also maintained their growth trajectories.

"Among the world's top 10 exporting countries this year, our nation has seen the highest export growth," Vice Minister Park Sung-Taek said. "The public and private sectors will work together as a team to utilize all available resources to provide full support so that export growth continues until year's end so that this year's export performance will be the best in our history."

gilkyuyoung@korea.kr