In the first half of the year, the import and export volume of Ningbo Port reached 1.42 trillion yuan, and the export scale stepped up to the trillion yuan level

Ningbo Customs officers are conducting research on exported goods from enterprises. Photo by Liu Zhikan

Since the beginning of this year, the overall operation of foreign trade at Ningbo Port in Zhejiang Province has shown a stable and progressive development trend. According to statistics from Ningbo Customs, in the first half of this year, the total declared import and export volume of goods at Ningbo Port was 1.42 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.1% year-on-year (the same below), indicating significant achievements in foreign trade development.
The import and export structure continues to optimize, and the export driving force is strong. In the first half of the year, the export scale of Ningbo Port reached a trillion yuan level, reaching 108 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.6%; Imports amounted to 335.91 billion yuan, an increase of 5.5%. In June, the import and export of Ningbo Port reached 270.59 billion yuan, an increase of 19.2%. Among them, exports amounted to 216.31 billion yuan, an increase of 25%; Imports amounted to 54.28 billion yuan, an increase of 0.6%. The potential for export growth has been fully unleashed, and the resilience of port foreign trade continues to be highlighted.
The operating entities are full of vitality, and private enterprises firmly occupy an absolute dominant position. In the first half of the year, the import and export of private enterprises at Ningbo Port reached 1.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.1%, accounting for 77.4% of the overall import and export proportion of Ningbo Port, driving the growth of foreign trade at Ningbo Port by 6.2 percentage points and serving as the core engine of foreign trade growth. During the same period, the import and export of state-owned enterprises reached 158.13 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3%; The import and export of foreign-invested enterprises reached 162.58 billion yuan, an increase of 3.2%. The growth rate turned negative from the previous five months to positive, and the stability of foreign trade operations continued to improve.
The regional radiation level continues to amplify, highlighting the hub aggregation effect. In the first half of the year, enterprises from other regions imported and exported 916.96 billion yuan through Ningbo Port, an increase of 10.1%, contributing 89.3% to the overall import and export growth of Ningbo Port. Among them, the import and export of enterprises from other provinces through Ningbo Port amounted to 530.42 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8%; The import and export of enterprises from other provinces amounted to 386.54 billion yuan, an increase of 18.2%. During the same period, local enterprises in Ningbo imported and exported 501.52 billion yuan through ports, an increase of 2.1%.
Diversified expansion of global market layout, achieving a shift from negative to positive trade with the United States. In the first half of the year, Ningbo Port imported and exported RMB 260.87 billion and RMB 730.4 billion to the European Union and ASEAN respectively, with growth rates of 7.2% and 15.7%, respectively. The combined market share of the two major markets was 30.6%. In addition, trade with the United States has rebounded and improved, with imports and exports reaching 199.06 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 4% from -0.8% in the first five months. Over the same period, the import and export to the countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" was 745.32 billion yuan, up 7%, with remarkable achievements in market diversification and solid expansion of the circle of friends in foreign trade.
New quality productivity leads the upgrade of exports, and the "new three types" products stand out. In the first half of the year, Ningbo Port exported mechanical and electrical products worth 590.76 billion yuan, an increase of 8.7%, with a growth rate 4 percentage points higher than the previous five months; The export of labor-intensive products reached 293.47 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3%. The combined contribution of mechanical and electrical equipment and labor and electrical equipment to the overall export growth of Ningbo Port during the same period reached 77.3%. What is particularly noteworthy is that the "new three types" of products have become growth highlights, with a total export of 60.75 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 25.4%. Among them, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries were exported for 25.04 billion yuan and 12.9 billion yuan respectively, doubling and 30.5% respectively, and the global competitiveness of the new energy advantage industry continued to rise.
The import of some resources and raw materials is showing a positive trend. In the first half of the year, the import of crude oil at Ningbo Port was 97.51 billion yuan, an increase of 13%, driving the overall import growth of Ningbo Port by 3.5 percentage points during the same period. During the same period, imported metal ores and mineral sands amounted to 21.77 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8%; Imported agricultural products amounted to 16.06 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8%. In addition, imported mechanical and electrical products amounted to 25.86 billion yuan, an increase of 1.5%.
Next, Ningbo Customs will continue to optimize its regulatory service measures, continuously improve the level of customs clearance convenience, proactively connect with enterprise business demands, accurately alleviate the development difficulties of foreign trade enterprises, fully escort enterprises to explore overseas markets, stabilize orders in hand, and take multiple measures to promote stable and high-quality export foreign trade, achieving long-term stability. (Cao Lihong, Wang Lingke)