South Korea’s trade surplus in the information-technology sector widened from a year earlier in March as the growth of exports greatly outpaced that of imports, the government said Tuesday.

The country chalked up a trade surplus of $7.02 billion last month as its outbound shipments of IT products surged 10.1 percent from a year earlier to $13.76 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports, on the other hand, gained only 2 percent on-year to $6.74 billion. The trade surplus marks a significant growth from a surplus of $5.89 billion in March 2012. It also compares with a $6.35 billion surplus in the previous month.

“Last month’s IT trade surplus was 2.1 times higher than the country’s total trade surplus of $3.36 billion, which means the IT industry helped maintain the country’s overall trade balance in the black,” the ministry said in a press release.

IT exports surged on growing demand in most advanced and developing countries, the ministry noted.

The country’s shipments to the 10-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations jumped 34 percent on-year to $1.88 billion last month, with exports to the European Union and the United States also surging 11.3 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.

By product, shipments of smartphones and other mobile communication devices, including their parts, spiked 23.8 percent on-year to $1.84 billion with shipments of semiconductors also gaining 6.7 percent to $4.6 billion.

Exports of most other key products, including computers and display panels, increased from a year earlier except televisions and related parts, whose outbound shipments dropped 4.3 percent from a year earlier in March to $510 million, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the ministry said the country’s IT exports in the first three months of the year surged to a record high of $38.71 billion, up 9.4 percent from the same period last year.

The country’s IT trade surplus in the first quarter also reached an all-time high of $19.47 billion, it added. (Yonhap News)