SHANGHAI: Shanaghai reported 2.8 trillion yuan (US$427.5 billion) of foreign trade last year, down 2.1 percent from 2014, Shanghai Customs said yesterday.
The figure breaks down into 1.6 trillion yuan of imports and 1.2 trillion yuan of exports. It said the city’s imports edged up 0.5 percent annually and accounted for 15.2 percent of China’s total imports.
High technology products accounted for 40 percent of Shanghai’s imports, valued at 527 billion yuan, up 4.6 percent anually, according to Customs.
It said Shanghai residents showed a robust demand for imported consumer goods, which totaled 193 billion yuan last year, up 9.4 percent from 2014. Imports of meat surged 66.1 percent, while imports of fruits jumped 31.6 percent and clothing rose 9.4 percent.
Shanghai’s exports, meanwhile, dropped 5.3 percent year on year and accounted for 8.7 percent of China’s total.
Shanghai’s trade with the European Union shrank 9.6 percent to 576 billion yuan and that with the United States fell 1.9 percent to 460 billion yuan, Customes said. They are Shanghai’s top two trading partners, it added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nation has replaced Japan to be Shanghai’s third largest trading partner, with 332 billion yuan of trade. Trade with Japan dropped 7.6 percent to 310 billion yuan.
Last year, the value of China’s total exports and imports decreased 7 percent year on year, falling for the first time in six years, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.
