April 1 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s exports fell for a fifth month in March, the longest run of contractions since 2002, as demand from the U.S. and Japan weakened amid a global recession.

Overseas shipments declined 21.2 percent to $28.4 billion from a year ago after February’s revised 18.3 percent slide, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in Gwacheon today. The median estimate was for a 21.5 percent drop, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 11 economists. The country posted a record trade surplus of $4.6 billion.

The decline in shipments is more moderate than those in Japan and Taiwan thanks to a drop in the won, which has fallen a third against the dollar and 40 percent versus the yen since last year. Factory output rose for a second month in February from January, while inventories declined for a fourth month, a report yesterday showed.

“A weaker won is doing more good than harm to the Korean economy and exports by increasing price competitiveness,” said Kwon Young Sun, an economist at Nomura International Ltd. in Hong Kong. “The decline in the currency helped Korea expand market share in global markets and this will help Korea see a meaningful recovery later.”

Japan’s exports plunged a record 49.4 percent in February with shipments to the U.S. tumbling an unprecedented pace, a report showed last week. Taiwan’s exports fell 28.6 percent, extending the longest losing streak in seven years.

Extra Spending

President Lee Myung Bak’s government unveiled a 17.7 trillion won ($13.4 billion) extra spending package last week to revive a nation on the brink of its first recession since the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s largest shipbuilder, said last week orders in the first two months of this year fell 85 percent.

South Korea’s won strengthened for a second day today after the record trade surplus was reported, easing a shortage of foreign exchange needed to pay overseas debt. The currency rose 0.8 percent to 1,378.55 per dollar at 2:55 p.m.

The nation is likely to post a trade surplus of $20 billion this year, up from an earlier forecast of $12 billion, Lee Dong Geun, deputy minister for trade and investment policy at the Knowledge Economy Ministry, told reporters.

Imports

South Korean imports fell 36 percent in March from a year earlier to $23.8 billion, today’s report showed. Exports make up about 60 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product.

Exports to China, the nation’s largest overseas market, fell 17.2 percent during the first 20 days of March, while sales to Japan dropped 29.8 percent, today’s report showed. Shipments to the U.S. declined 24 percent and exports to the European Union slid 16.9 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Seyoon Kim in Seoul at skim7@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 1, 2009 01:59 EDT