A container ship berths at a port in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Imports and exports at ports in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province were valued at 1.54 trillion yuan ($236.92 billion) from January to July, rising 37.3 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics from Ningbo Customs.

Specifically, exports via the city's ports during the seven-month period hit 1.13 trillion yuan, an uptick of 40.5 percent year-on-year, while the value of imports amounted to 413.9 billion yuan, an increase of 29.5 percent.

Notably, exports at Ningbo ports have grown at a pace of over 40 percent for four consecutive months since April.

The European Union, the United States, and ASEAN, were these ports' top three trading partners. Exports to and imports from these economies via Ningbo ports in the first seven months of this year hit 290.51 billion yuan, 274.26 billion yuan, and 160.15 billion yuan respectively, up 46.5 percent, 39.8 percent and 39 percent, and accounting for 47.1 percent of the total handled by the city.

Private enterprises still took up the lion's share of the foreign trade growth over the seven-month period. From January to July, imports and exports of private enterprises handled at Ningbo ports expanded 36.5 percent year-on-year 1.08 trillion yuan, accounting for 7.01 percent of the total.

Stable growth was seen in the exports of mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products. Crude oil was still the largest import via the city's ports.