South Korea’s exports have plummeted so far this month, continuing a prolonged downslide.
 
The Korea Customs Service said Monday that the nation exported goods worth 23-point-77 billion U.S. dollars between March first and the 20th, down 19-point-two percent from the same period last year.
 
The country’s exports from the beginning of the year through March 20th dropped 16-point-six percent to 96-point-76 billion dollars compared to the same period in 2015.
 
Exports fell 12-point-two percent year-on-year to 36-point-four billion dollars in February, remaining on a downward trend for 14 straight months, the longest period since statistics on monthly exports began to be compiled in 1970.

If the monthly export level continues to decline at the current rate until the end of March, exports for the whole month will mark the largest drop in six years and seven months since August 2009.

The government is predicting that exports will be in better shape for the entire month of March, noting an improvement observed after February.