SHIJIAZHUANG, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The total import-export value of north China's Hebei Province reached 89.2 billion yuan (about 12.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter (Q1), up 7.3 percent year on year, local authorities said Friday.
The growth rate of Hebei's foreign trade during the quarter was 13.7 percentage points higher than the national average, with the province's exports down 7.9 percent to 47.4 billion yuan and its imports surging by 32.2 percent to 41.8 billion yuan compared with Q1 of 2018, according to the Shijiazhuang Customs.
Private businesses were active market players that contributed 57 billion yuan in foreign trade during the period, accounting for 63.9 percent of Hebei's total, the customs said.
The province saw its imports and exports total 16.9 billion yuan with its largest trade partner Australia during the quarter, up 25.3 percent year on year. Trade with ASEAN and Brazil also enjoyed rapid growth of 58.2 percent and 61 percent respectively during the period.
Hebei's export of agricultural products grew by 14.7 percent year on year in Q1 to 2.7 billion yuan, while its import of agricultural products amounted to 6.4 billion yuan, up 81.7 percent over the same period last year.
Wang Xigang, deputy head of the Shijiazhuang Customs, said a series of measures have been introduced to support the recovery of Hebei's foreign trade, which proved effective as the province's imports and exports grew much faster in March than in the previous two months. Enditem
