Ningbo's foreign trade up 22.5% Jan-Oct

Customs Officials examine battery products to be exported from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang provicne. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

Ningbo's imports and exports hit 979.94 billion yuan ($150.76 billion) in the first 10 months of this year, up 22.5 percent year-on-year, official statistics from Ningbo Customs show.

Specifically, its exports totaled 626.98 billion yuan, rising by 20.2 percent year-on-year, while its import volume amounted to 352.96 billion yuan, an uptick of 26.7 percent.

Private enterprises were still the main engine fueling the city's foreign trade growth in the 10-month period.

From January to October, imports and exports of private enterprises from Ningbo expanded 20.9 percent year-on-year to 688.85 billion yuan, accounting for 70.3 percent of the city's total.                         

The city's top three trading partners during this period were the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN. Its trading volume with these economies was valued at 175.59 billion yuan, 171.61 billion yuan, and 102.81 billion yuan respectively, up 25 percent, 22 percent and 16.9 percent, and accounting for 45.9 percent of the city's total.

In addition, the city's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 21 percent to 269.36 billion yuan, making up 27.5 percent of its total trade.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products amounted to 361.48 billion yuan, up 27 percent and accounting for 57.7 percent of the city's total exports.

Its exports of labor-intensive products edged up 3.2 percent to 151.62 billion yuan over the period.

As for imports, the city imported 41.8 billion yuan worth of metal ore and ore sand from January to October, a jump of 56.2 percent year-on-year.   

In October alone, Ningbo's foreign trade volume expanded by 21.8 percent year-on-year to 106.76 billion yuan.