In the first five months of this year, Quanzhou's foreign trade imports and exports amounted to 103.17 billion yuan, of which exports were 73.88 billion yuan and imports were 29.29 billion yuan. In March, April, and May, imports and exports were 24.43 billion yuan, 18.32 billion yuan, and 23.55 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 18%, 8.8%, and 0.5% year-on-year. Among them, exports in May were 17.3 billion yuan, an increase of 12.5%.
The Quanzhou Stone Industry Group, with Shuitou Town as its core, continues to make efforts. The cumulative export value of granite stone from January to May reached 2.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. As the largest stone processing and trade base in the country, Shuitou Town has achieved steady growth in stone exports by relying on intelligent production systems (such as fully automatic cutting lines and intelligent sorting systems) and export models led by private enterprises (accounting for over 90%). In addition, the Middle East market has become an important growth pole, with stone exports to Middle Eastern countries reaching 770 million yuan in the first four months, a year-on-year increase of 56.2%, further consolidating Quanzhou's international competitiveness as the "Stone Capital of China".
In the context of a relatively severe overall situation in foreign trade, Quanzhou's foreign trade has achieved three consecutive months of growth, showing a stable development trend and demonstrating strong resilience.
It mainly presents four characteristics:
Firstly, the dominant position in general trade is prominent. In the first five months, Quanzhou city imported and exported 76.97 billion yuan through general trade, accounting for 74.6% of Quanzhou's total foreign trade import and export value during the same period. Import and export through bonded logistics amounted to 6.98 billion yuan, an increase of 10.4%. The import and export through processing trade amounted to 2.59 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8%. In addition, the import and export of other trade methods such as market procurement amounted to 16.62 billion yuan.
The second is the prominent role of private enterprises as the "main force". In the first five months, the import and export of private enterprises in Quanzhou amounted to 65.52 billion yuan, accounting for 63.5%. The import and export of foreign-invested enterprises and state-owned enterprises were 29.81 billion yuan and 7.6 billion yuan, respectively, accounting for 28.9% and 7.4%.
Third, the proportion of imports and exports to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" exceeded 70%. In the first five months, Quanzhou's imports and exports to ASEAN, EU, and the United States amounted to 24.63 billion yuan, 10.68 billion yuan, and 9.65 billion yuan, respectively, accounting for 43.6% of Quanzhou's total foreign trade value. The import and export to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" amounted to 73.1 billion yuan, accounting for 70.9%. In addition, imports and exports to Saudi Arabia and Iraq amounted to 12.48 billion yuan and 5.2 billion yuan, respectively, with an increase of 19.3% and 79.8%.
The fourth is the continuous optimization of the structure of import and export commodities. In terms of exports, in the first five months, labor-intensive products such as textiles and clothing, shoes, and mechanical and electrical products were exported for 35.5 billion yuan and 14.24 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 48.1% and 19.3% of Quanzhou's total foreign trade exports. In addition, agricultural products, food, granite stone, and ceramics were exported for 3.09 billion yuan, 2.95 billion yuan, 2.47 billion yuan, and 2.22 billion yuan, respectively, with growth rates of 1.2%, 2.6%, 8.7%, and 35.8%. In terms of imports, in the first five months, crude oil imports amounted to 20.94 billion yuan, accounting for 71.5% of Quanzhou's total foreign trade imports. In addition, imported pulp, consumer goods, and edible aquatic products were 1.12 billion yuan, 1.056 billion yuan, and 480 million yuan, respectively, an increase of 3.8%, 23.4%, and 73.4%.
