Guangdong: Processing trade beaten for first time in two decades

Processing trade was beaten by general trade for the first time in more than two decades in south China's Guangdong Province last month, data released by the local customs office on Monday showed.

Guangdong's foreign trade totaled 484.58 billion yuan (77.48 billion U.S. dollars) in January, down 8.1 percent from the same period last year, compared with a 10.8 percent national average drop, the Guangdong Sub-Administration of the China Customs said in a press release.

The figure broke down into 307.26 billion yuan in exports and 177.32 billion yuan in imports, down by 5.8 percent and 11.8 percent respectively year-on-year, it said.

"It is noteworthy that general trade totaled 226 billion yuan in January. Despite a 2.3 percent drop over the same period last year, general trade surpassed processing trade for the first time since 1990."

Guangdong's processing trade in January was 193.11 billion yuan, down 17.5 percent year-on-year, it said.

"This indicates structural changes in Guangdong's export-oriented economy, weakening of the once-prominent processing trade as well as new opportunities and challenges in Guangdong's foreign trade this year," the document commented.

Trade with the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased by 6.1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, while trade with other traditional traders including Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea, all dropped, it said.Endi