According to data released by Haikou Customs on May 20, in the first four months of this year, the total import and export value of Hainan's trade in goods was 59.84 billion yuan ($9 billion), an increase of 68.8 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 60.9 percentage points faster than the national average, ranking first in the country.
Among them, the import value was 44.66 billion yuan, an increase of 62.8 percent, with the growth rate being 57.7 percentage points faster than the national level, ranking first in the country. The export value was 15.18 billion yuan, an increase of 89.6 percent, with the growth rate being 79.3 percentage points faster than the national level, ranking second in the country.
An official of the Haikou Customs statistical analysis office analyzed the factors driving the rapid growth of foreign trade in the province. On the one hand, the opportunities for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port have become more attractive to import and export enterprises. In the first four months of this year, nearly 6,000 foreign trade enterprises were newly registered in Hainan, an increase of 144 percent.
On the other hand, the continuous and rapid development of the duty-free industry has promoted the expansion of imports. Consumer goods have become the most important imported commodities in Hainan, and their proportion in the total import value of the province has increased from 20 percent in 2017 to nearly 50 percent.
An aerial view of Yangpu port in Hainan. [Photo/VCG]
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