South Korea's exports fell 14.8 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July due to sluggish shipments of chips, data showed Tuesday.

The country's outbound shipments reached $13.3 billion in the July 1-10 period, compared with $15.5 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports fell 26.9 percent on-year to $15.5 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.27 billion.

In June, South Korea's outbound shipments fell 6 percent on-year to $54.24 billion. But the month posted the smallest on-year export decline so far this year, possibly indicating the country's exports may rebound in the second half of this year.

The country reported a trade surplus for the first time in 16 months in June. (Yonhap)