SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export grew for the 10th successive month due to solid demand for locally-made tech products, government data showed Thursday.

Export, which accounts for around half of the export-driven economy, advanced 13.9 percent from a year earlier to 57.49 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The outbound shipment kept an upward trend since October last year.

Import expanded 10.5 percent over the year to 53.88 billion dollars in July, sending the trade surplus to 3.62 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for the 14th consecutive month since June last year.

Of the country's 15 major export items, 11 products saw an increase in outbound shipment.

Semiconductor shipment soared 50.4 percent from a year earlier to 11.2 billion dollars in July, continuing to rise for the ninth straight month.

The rapid expansion was attributed to chip demand relevant to artificial intelligence (AI), higher memory chip prices, and the launch of new tech products.

Display panel export added 2.4 percent to 1.73 billion dollars last month, maintaining an upward trend for the 12th consecutive month on the back of robust demand for flat screens used for smartphones.

Mobile device shipment jumped 53.6 percent to 1.46 billion dollars on higher replacement demand, while computer export surged 61.6 percent to 1.17 billion dollars amid the continued demand for solid-state drive (SSD).

Automotive export fell 9.1 percent to 5.37 billion dollars owing to summer vacations for major carmakers, but auto parts shipment climbed 9.5 percent to 2.22 billion dollars, turning upward in three months.

General machinery shipment increased 12.5 percent to 4.95 billion dollars, marking the first rebound in three months on strong demand from the United States, Latin America and the Middle East.

Shipment for oil products and petrochemicals gained in double figures to 4.53 billion dollars and 4.18 billion dollars each amid the higher crude oil prices.

Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 83.8 dollars per barrel in July, up 4.2 percent compared with the same month of last year.

Home appliances export mounted 9.4 percent to 730 million dollars, but shipment for steel and secondary batteries shrank in single digits to 2.79 billion dollars and 740 million dollars respectively.

Export to the United States swelled 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 10.18 billion dollars in July, keeping an upward trend for the 12th successive month since August last year.

Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew 12.1 percent to 9.95 billion dollars on strong demand from Vietnam, but export to the European Union (EU) shed 1.4 percent to 5.55 billion dollars due to lower car demand.

Export to Japan, Latin America, India and the Middle East all increased in double digits last month.

Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, climbed 11.9 percent to 10.92 billion dollars in July compared to the same month of last year.

Non-energy imports gained 10.2 percent to 42.95 billion dollars on higher demand for semiconductors and naphtha. Enditem

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