Exports by South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased 4.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier, driven by the strong performance of the cosmetics sector, data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments by 77,078 SMEs came to US$57.1 billion in the January-June period, compared with $54.7 billion a year ago, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.By item, cosmetics exports jumped 30.8 percent on-year in the first half to $3.3 billion, the highest figure for the half yearly period, on diversification of trading partners as well as strong demand in the United States and China.Outbound shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipments advanced 14.7 percent to a record $1.9 billion, and exports of electronic appliance equipments gained 4.1 percent to an all-time high of $1.3 billion.But auto exports dropped 10.6 percent on-year to $2.25 billion.By nation, overseas shipments to the U.S. climbed 20.6 percent to $9.46 billion on strong demand for cosmetics, making the co untry the biggest buyer of South Korean SME products for the first time.Exports to Mexico increased 5.5 percent on-year to $1.4 billion on the U.S. nearshoring effect, and those to Thailand added 4.4 percent to $1.29 billion thanks to the popularity of Korean food and beauty products.Exports to China, however, decreased 3.6 percent to $9.03 billion.Data also showed that Korean SMEs exported $450 million online in the first half, up 23 percent on-year.Source: Yonhap News Agency