South Korea's exports fell seven-point-five percent in the first ten days of January from a year earlier largely due to a sharp decline in chip exports.

According to data by the Korea Customs Service on Friday, the country's outbound shipments reached 12-point-seven billion U.S. dollars in the period between January first and tenth.

Chip exports plunged by 27 percent from a year earlier during the period, while shipments of petroleum products and ships fell over 26 percent and nearly 30 percent, respectively. 

The customs service said the drop in chip exports is attributed to slowed growth in the prices of semiconductor components and the base effect, noting that chip exports posted a double-digit growth for 25 straight months until last November.