Tokyo  - Japan's exports plummeted by 26.7 per cent in November compared to the same month last year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

It is the biggest monthly drop since the introduction of the current recording system in 1980. Exports to the United States, Japan's most important export market, dropped by
33.8 per cent to 993.9 billion yen (11.03 billion dollars), while exports to the European Union were down 30.8 per cent to 711.2 billion yen.

Exports to Asia fell 26.7 per cent to 2,58 trillion yen.

Japan reported a 223.4-billion-yen trade deficit for November, the the first time the country reported a trade deficit for two months in a row.

Imports nosedived by 14.4 per cent to 5.55 trillion yen, the first drop in 14 months. (dpa)