The nation's customs-cleared trade surplus plunged 43.1 percent from a year earlier to 3.3 trillion yen during the first half of fiscal 2001, the Finance Ministry said Monday in a preliminary report.

This marks the fifth consecutive drop since the first half of fiscal 1999, the report says.

Exports during the April-September period posted a year-on-year decline of 6.1 percent to 24.33 trillion yen, the first drop in four terms.