Guangdong sets record for trade volume in June

Guangdong province recorded an import and export volume in June of 1.05 trillion yuan ($155.56 billion), marking the first time the monthly figure has exceeded the 1-trillion-yuan threshold in history and representing a year-on-year increase of 30.3 percent.

Bi Kexin, deputy director of Guangdong Customs, said the province sold products abroad valued at 607.44 billion yuan (up 15.1 percent) while purchasing goods valued at 444.14 billion yuan from the rest of the world (up 59.1 percent).

The good trade performance in June has helped the province reach a total foreign trade volume of 5.49 trillion yuan for the first half of the year, surpassing 5 trillion yuan for the first time for the period, a year-on-year growth of 20.8 percent.

Guangdong's foreign trade volume represented 21.6 percent of China's total, registering a trade increment of 944.71 billion yuan and contributing 25.6 percent to the nation's foreign trade growth.

Guangdong ranks first nationally in its share of foreign trade, trade increment and growth contribution, Bi said at a news conference in Guangzhou on Friday.

Customs officers said the growth can be partly attributed to the heat wave in Europe and partly to World Cup fever.

Huang Bin, deputy director of Guangzhou Customs, said the city's air conditioner export value reached 3.6 billion yuan in the first half of the year.

"Searing heat across Europe has fueled a sharp surge in demand for our air conditioners," Huang said, noting that European Union is Guangzhou's largest market for air conditioners, accounting for more than one-third of total exports. Shipments to France and the Netherlands doubled year-on-year.

Zhong Sheng, deputy director of Huangpu Customs, said exports of sporting goods were booming amid World Cup fever.

In the first half of this year, Dongguan's exports of sporting goods hit 2.73 billion yuan in diversified export markets, a wide range of product categories and brand-oriented businesses.

Dongguan is a manufacturing hub for sporting goods. For example, it makes more than 80 percent of pickleball racket brands worldwide and more than one-third of the globe's core snooker products.

Guangdong's import and export volume with emerging markets, including ASEAN members and Latin America, reached 857.42 billion yuan and 277.35 billion yuan respectively, rising by 13.3 percent and 4.5 percent year-on-year.

The province's trade with traditional markets, including Hong Kong (829.93 billion yuan, up 47.2 percent), the EU (579.93 billion yuan, up 6.9 percent), the United States (487.48 billion yuan, up 3.8 percent) and the Republic of Korea (307.02 billion yuan, up 40.3 percent), also recorded year-on-year growth in the same period.

Trade between Guangdong and Africa hit a record high of 178.44 billion yuan, surging 23.3 percent year-on-year in the first six months.