South Korea's exports slipped 8.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of December, data showed Wednesday, due mainly to weak shipments of chips and mobile devices.

The country's outbound shipments stood at $33.6 billion in the Dec. 1-20 period, compared with $36.8 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports moved up 1.9 percent on-year to $40 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.4 billion.

Outbound shipments of chips, a mainstay export product, fell 24.3 percent and those of mobile devices slipped 44.8 percent, the data showed.

By product, exports of chips fell 24.3 percent to reach $5.58 billion and those of mobile devices declined 43.8 percent to $906 million.

Exports of steel and auto parts decreased 17.4 percent and 3.3 percent to reach $2.59 billion and $1.21 billion, respectively.

On the other hand, outbound shipments of automobiles shot up 45.2 percent to $2.9 billion, and those of petroleum products advanced 27.1 percent over the period to $2.9 billion.

By destination, exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, moved down 26.6 percent to $7.19 billion. Shipments to the United States increased 16.1 percent to $5.8 billion.

Outbound shipments to the European Union gained 1.2 percent to $4 billion, while those to Vietnam decreased 20.6 percent to $2.9 billion.

Exports fell 14 percent on-year to reach $51.91 billion in November, following a 5.7 percent on-year fall the previous month, separate data from the trade ministry showed. It was the first time since early 2020 that exports fell for two consecutive months.

South Korea's total exports this year through Tuesday, meanwhile, came to $662.6 billion, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier. However, imports increased by a wider margin of 19.9 percent to $711.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $48.9 billion.

The country is widely anticipated to report its first annual trade deficit in 14 years in 2022. In 2008, Asia's No. 4 economy posted a trade deficit of $13.2 billion. (Yonhap)