South Korea's exports rose 18.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July, data showed Monday, on the back of the robust performance of chips and cars. Outbound shipments reached US$37.17 billion in the July 1-20 period, compared with $31.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports grew 14.2 percent on-year to $37.2 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $50 million. In June, exports, a key growth engine, rose 5.1 percent on-year to $57 billion, the ninth straight monthly gain, as chip exports surged 50.9 percent to reach an all-time monthly high, according to government data. Source: Yonhap News Agency