Guangdong foreign trade up 49.6% in February
By Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-16 09:17

Even bird flu has failed to dent Guangdong Province's economic fortunes, with the southern economic powerhouse notching up a 49.6 per cent increase in its foreign trade volume in February, hitting US$23.58 billion.

According to statistics released yesterday by Guangdong Customs, the province's imports increased even faster at 55.7 per cent, reaching US$11.69 billion last month, while exports grew 44.1 per cent to come in at US$11.89 billion.

Exports of machinery and electronic products, new and high-tech products enjoyed substantial growth, while exports of live poultry and related products fell, Wu Sihai, an official from Guangdong Customs said yesterday.

Guangdong's good foreign trade performance last month helped the province, the country's biggest foreign trader, achieved a total import and export volume of US$43.91 billion in the first two months of 2004, a year-on-year increase of 19.4 per cent, Wu said.

Guangdong's exports increased 15.4 per cent, standing at US$22.23 billion, while imports grew by 23.7 per cent to reach US$21.68 billion in the first two months of this year.

Guangdong had a foreign trade surplus of US$550 million in the first two months of this year. And the province's foreign trade volume accounted for 29.7 per cent of the national total.

Guangdong's export volume from non-State sectors continued to witness strong growth in the first two months of this year.

The southern Chinese province's exports from foreign-funded firms and joint ventures totalled US$13.86 billion, an increase of 18 per cent, representing 62.3 per cent of the province's total amount in the first two months.

And exports from province's collective and privately run companies also reached US$2.84 billion in January and February, a year-on-year increase of 89 per cent.

But exports from State-owned enterprises saw a slight decline of 0.1 per cent in the first two months of this year.

Machinery and electronic products and new and high-tech products have been the province's major foreign currency earners this year.

The export volume of machinery and electronic products reached US$14.74 billion in the first two months, up 19.4 per cent and accounting for 66.3 per cent of the province's total.

And the exports of new and high-tech products came to US$7.63 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31.5 per cent.

Hong Kong, the United States and European Union (EU) remained the province's biggest trade partners in the first two months of this year.

And Guangdong mainly imported machinery and electronic products, high-tech products, automobiles and auto parts, agricultural products, steel, chemicals, finished oil and other raw materials.

Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in the prosperous Pearl River Delta became the top five cities in the province's foreign trade industry. All five cities enjoyed double-digit growth in foreign trade in the first two months of this year.