The trade volume between Ningbo and 17 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) amounted to 11.96 billion yuan ($1.84 billion) in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year growth of 48.8 percent.

Specifically, the city's exports to CEEC stood at 9.27 billion yuan, up 27.9 percent year-on-year, while imports surged 241.2 percent to 2.69 billion yuan.

Private enterprises still take up the lion's share of the city's trade with CEEC. Their trade volume with the 17 countries increased 51.3 percent to 9.49 billion yuan, making up 79.3 percent of the city's total.

Chen Yi, general manager of Ningbo Dijia Vida International Trade Co Ltd, said that the company's imports from CEEC has expanded from only milk from Poland in 2015, when it debuted at the China-CEEC Expo, to hundreds of commodities with annual sales of over 20 million yuan. 

Thirteen of the 17 Central and Eastern European countries saw positive growth in trade with Ningbo over the four-month period. The top five trading partners were Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Romania. 

The city's trade volume with Poland surged 32 percent year-on-year to 3.94 billion yuan, accounting for 32.9 percent of the city's total during the period.

Mechanical and electrical products are the primary commodity traded between Ningbo and CEEC.

From January to April, the city's exports of mechanical and electrical products to CEEC reached 6.45 billion yuan, up 40 percent year-on-year.

The second China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair is slated to be held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province from June 8 to 11.