A container vessel is berthed at the Jintang port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province in July. [Photo by Yao Feng/For China Daily]

Ningbo's foreign trade maintained robust growth momentum in the first four months of this year.

Official data from Ningbo Customs shows that the city's imports and exports were valued at 357.97 billion yuan ($55.07 billion) from January to April, an increase of 37.7 percent year-on-year.

Specifically, its exports stood at 225.25 billion yuan, rising by 36.4 percent, while import volume reached 132.72 billion yuan, up 40 percent.

Private enterprises again took up the lion's share of the city's foreign trade volume over the four-month period.

Imports and exports of private enterprises surged 42.3 percent year-on-year to 250.8 billion yuan, accounting for 70.1 percent of the city's total.

The online overseas orders for clothing have been growing this year due to the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs, according to Xue Qinfen, head of customs affairs of Ningbo Seduno Import and Export Co Ltd.

In the first four months of this year, the company's imports and exports grew at a pace of more than 30 percent.

The European Union (excluding the UK), the United States and ASEAN were the city's top three trading partners during the period.

The value of trade between Ningbo and the three aforementioned economies stood at 61.78 billion yuan, 59.87 billion yuan and 38.81 billion yuan respectively, up 35.7 percent, 51.9 percent and 31.1 percent respectively, with the combined value accounting for 44.8 percent of the city's total trade.

In addition, the city's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative expanded 31.9 percent to 99.21 billion yuan, accounting for 27.7 percent of its total trade.

During the same period, trade with 17 Central and Eastern European Countries surged 48.8 percent to 11.96 billion yuan.

As a prime category of export commodity from Ningbo, exports of mechanical and electrical products were valued at 129.18 billion yuan, up 42.1 percent and accounting for 57.3 percent of the city's total exports.

Meanwhile, exports of labor-intensive products during the period stood at 53.73 billion yuan, an uptick of 22.8 percent year-on-year. As for imports, the city imported 15.54 billion yuan worth of metal ores and ore sands from January to April, up 97.3 percent year-on-year.

A head official from the Ningbo municipal bureau of commerce pledged that they will sustain efforts in streamlining custom clearance, making foreign trade more convenient and efficient.

In April alone, Ningbo's foreign trade volume expanded 29 percent to 98.55 billion yuan, hitting a new record high.