SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of the information and communications technology (ICT) products grew last month thanks to demand for semiconductor and computer, a government report showed Tuesday.

The ICT export added 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 15.24 billion U.S. dollars in August, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The daily average export advanced 7.1 percent last month.

The ICT import went up 4.3 percent to 9.19 billion dollars in August, sending the trade surplus in the sector to 6.05 billion dollars.

Computer shipment almost doubled in the month as people worked at home and attended online classes amid the fear of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chip export rose 2.6 percent, but those for display panels and mobile phones slumped 16.9 percent and 33 percent respectively.

The ICT export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, amounted to 7.1 billion dollars, followed by export to Vietnam with 2.76 billion dollars, the United States with 1.75 billion dollars and the European Union (EU) with 860 million dollars each.