South Korea's exports of handsets decreased for the eighth consecutive month in March due to the slow global demand for smartphones.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Sunday, the country's outbound shipments of handsets, including parts, came to 910 million dollars in March, down 33 percent from a year earlier.

The figure is slipping for the eighth straight month since it posted a drop of 21 percent in August last year.

Exports of completed handset products came to 400 billion dollars, falling 38-point-seven percent on-year amid intensified competition abroad.

Outbound shipments of handset parts also fell 27-point-seven percent over the cited period to reach 510 billion dollars as smartphone makers opted to secure parts locally at their overseas production lines.