Exports by South Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) shrank for the third consecutive month in May amid sluggish overseas demand for the country's major products, data showed Wednesday.
Local SMEs' overseas shipments stood at US$9.55 billion last month, down 5.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Small Business Institute.
The drop followed two straight months of declines but its pace of contraction slowed. Their exports fell 6 percent on-year in April and 9.1 percent in March.
Overseas shipments of chips, one of South Korea's key export items, and related products plunged 17.2 percent, with those of chipmaking equipment and synthetic resins sinking 21.3 percent and 22.8 percent each.
In contrast, auto exports, including used cars, spiked 140.8 percent in May from a year earlier.
Exports to Vietnam and the United States declined 11.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, with those to China and Japan also dropping 3.4 percent and 2.7 percent each.
In May, South Korea's overall exports sank 15.2 percent on-year to $52.24 billion, falling for the eighth straight month.
The data also showed the combined SME workforce standing at 25.69 million as of end-May, up 237,000 from a year earlier.
Source: Yonhap News Agency