Japan's exports fell for the first time in 16 months in March, as the hugely negative impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on Japan's key export sector is becoming increasingly quantifiable, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

According to the government's latest figures, overseas shipments slumped 2.2 percent in March from a year earlier, following a 9.0 percent gain logged in February. The figure for March was far higher than median economists estimates for a 1.1 percent drop in the recording period.

The total value of exports in March contracted to 5,866.0 billion yen (71 billion U.S. dollars) and the nation's trade balance logged a 195.5 billion yen (2.4 billion U.S. dollars) surplus in the recording period, the government's preliminary report revealed.

Exports to mainland China, Japan's biggest trading partner, bucked the downward trend marking a 3.8 percent increase in March, but overseas shipments to Hong Kong and Taiwan slumped 4.2 and 5.3 percent respectively.

The ministry data showed that overseas shipments of electrical machinery like semiconductors, visual apparatus and parts of audio and visual apparatus fell 6.1 percent in the reporting month and exports of transport equipment including cars, buses, trucks, auto parts and components dropped 19.1 percent in March from a year earlier.

For fiscal year 2010 however, the ministry noted that Japan booked a 5.3 trillion yen (64 billion U.S. dollars) trade surplus and exports for the year expanded by 14.9 percent, marking the first rise in three years in a sign the nation's export-led economic recovery was beginning to show signs of gaining traction prior to the devastating affects of the March 11 quake and tsunami, which damaged manufacturers' facilities, severely disrupted global supply chains and forcing large factories to operate under power restrictions, severely affecting output levels.

The earthquake and tsunami killed or left missing more than 27,000 people. The government estimated the damage from the disaster may cost as much as 25 trillion yen (302 million U.S. dollars).

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet