Taipei - Taiwan's exports fell at a slower pace for a third month, with overseas shipments dropping 30.4 per cent in June from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

Exports amounted to 16.95 billion US dollars in June, down 7.39 billion US dollars from the same month a year earlier, but up 770 million US dollars or 4.8 per cent from May's 16.17 billion dollars, the ministry said.

The monthly decline was the 10th in a row but was slightly less than the 31.4-per-cent drop registered in May, which was less than April's decline of 34.3 per cent, it said.

China together with Hong Kong remained Taiwan's biggest export market, with the island shipping 7.06 billion dollars worth of goods to the region, accounting for 41.7 per cent of total export values.

The US followed, buying 1.87 billion dollars worth of goods from Taiwan, accounting for 11 per cent of the island's exports, followed by Europe's 1.72 billion dollars, and Japan's 1.22 billion dollars.

Imports amounted to 15.18 billion US dollars in June, down 33.5 per cent from a year earlier, but up 16.8 per cent from May's 13.01 billion US dollars, the ministry said.(dpa)