SEOUL， Dec。 21 （Xinhua） —— South Korea‘s export logged a double-digit growth in the first 20 days of December thanks to global demand recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic， customs office data showed Tuesday。
The outbound shipment amounted to 36。9 billion U。S。 dollars in the period from Dec。 1 to Dec。 20， up 20 percent from a year earlier， according to Korea Customs Service。
Semiconductor export jumped 27。5 percent， and shipment for oil products and computer peripherals soared 88。8 percent and 73。9 percent， respectively。
Automotive export shrank 4。1 percent， with shipment for telecommunication devices such as smartphones dropping 12。8 percent。
Export to China， South Korea’s biggest trading partner， gained 22。5 percent in the 20-day period， and those to the United States， the European Union （EU） and Vietnam grew in double digits。
Import surged 42。1 percent from a year earlier to 39。6 billion dollars in the first 20 days of December， sending the trade deficit to 2。7 billion dollars。 Enditem
