Posted : 2021-07-21 09:20 gettyimagesbank South Korea's exports rose 32.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July on the back of robust demand for chips, autos and petroleum products, customs data showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at US$32.6 billion in the July 1-20 period, compared with $24.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 46.1 percent on-year to $36.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.9 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By sector, outbound shipments of memory chips, a key export item, rose 33.9 percent on-year, and those of autos increased 28.4 percent despite global supply shortages of automotive chips.