SEOUL, April 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export fell 8.2 percent in March from a year earlier, keeping a downward trend for the fourth consecutive month, a government report showed Monday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, amounted to 47.11 billion U.S. dollars in March, down 8.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The outbound shipment continued to slide since December last year amid the lower price of semiconductors that had led the export increase in the past.

Import reduced 6.7 percent over the year to 41.89 billion dollars in March, sending the trade surplus to 5.22 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in the black for 86 months through last month.