In the first four months of 2019, Hubei’s foreign trade with the European Union (EU) amounted to 16.45 billion yuan, up 12.5 percent year on year, accounting for 15.3 percent of Hubei’s total import-export volume, according to statistics released by the Wuhan Customs on May 15.

  Hubei’s exports to EU rose 6.3 percent year on year to 10.73 billion yuan, while imports grew 26.2 percent to 5.72 yuan.

  The European Union was Hubeis largest trading partner during this period, followed by the ASEAN, the United States and Japan.

  The features of Hubei-EU trade in the first four months:

  1.Hubei’s imports of mechanical and electrical products enjoyed rapid growth. Imports of mechanical and electrical products reached 4.37 billion yuan, jumping by 49.6 percent, which accounted for 76.4 percent of foreign trade between Hubei and EU.

  2.Germany, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom became Hubei’s top four trading partners. And Hubei’s foreign trade with these four countries hit 9.64 billion yuan, accounting for 58.6 percent of Hubei-EU trade.

  3.The import and export volume of private enterprises accounted for half of the total, a substantial increase from the previous year, which achieved 8.49 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 42 percent.

  4.The general trade and bonded logistics increased by leaps and bounds. The general trade totaled 12.66 billion yuan, up by 22.2 percent, while bonded logistics added up to 910 million yuan, expanding by 75 percent.

  (hubei.gov.cn by Zhang Yawei)