Ningbo exports goods worth a total of of 23.0656 million yuan via cross-border e-commerce platforms in the first three quarters of this year. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo exported goods worth a total of of 23.0656 million yuan via cross-border e-commerce platforms in the first three quarters of this year, local authorities said on Oct 23.

The figure represents a growth of 486 percent over the same period last year, according to statistics from Ningbo Customs.

The exports consisted mainly of toys, jewelry, clothing, mobile phone cases and other consumer goods, and were shipped to countries including the United States, Britain, Canada, Thailand and Russia.

As an emerging form of international trade, cross-border e-commerce allows domestic companies to establish direct trade links with foreign consumers, which has not only reduced operating costs, but also provided new platforms to tap into overseas markets.

Ningbo, a port city in East China’s Zhejiang province, started to conduct cross-border e-commerce retail exports in October 2016, after the city was designated as a national pilot city for cross-border e-commerce.

An official in charge at Ningbo customs said that despite the export scale of cross-border e-commerce being relatively small when compared to imports, the growth potential is still huge when considering factors such as the city’s robust open economy.

He also said that local customs authorities have rolled out a series of measures to facilitate customs clearance and expand channels for cross-border customs clearance.

The time required to clear goods for export has already been slashed to five hours in Ningbo.