BEIJING (Reuters) -China's exports to North Korea soared in April from a year earlier, with wigs and fertiliser among major shipments, Chinese customs data showed on Saturday.

Chinese outbound shipments to the isolated country surged 69% year-on-year to $166 million in April, data released by China's General Administration of Customs showed.

The top export items in terms of value were processed hair and wool used in wigs, worth about $11.6 million, and diammonium hydrogen phosphate, a widely used fertiliser, worth $8.84 million.

Pyongyang purchased $5.07 million of rice from China in April.

In January-April, Chinese exports to North Korea leapt to $603 million from $270.59 million a year earlier, according to the customs data.

North Korea has long suffered from food insecurity and South Korea's DongA Ilbo newspaper reported in mid-February that Pyongyang's food crisis may have deteriorated.

The country has been under U.N. sanctions for its missile and nuclear programmes since 2006.