SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export fell for the 12th consecutive month due to weak global demand for locally-made products, especially semiconductors and oil products, government data showed Sunday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, shrank 4.4 percent from a year earlier to 54.66 billion U.S. dollars in September, continuing to decrease since October last year, according to the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Import tumbled 16.5 percent to 50.96 billion dollars last month compared to the same month of last year. Affected by the faster fall in import than export, the trade balance recorded a surplus of 3.7 billion dollars.