Trade cargo shipped via Shanghai in April, including local freight and transshipments, totalled US$40.3 billion in value, up 3.7 percent against the March figure. This is the second month in a row this year that the city has recorded growth.

Xinhua reported that export value went up 0.7 percent over March to US$25.1 billion, but fell 26.2 percent over the same month a year ago. Import value rose 9.1 percent over the preceding month to US$15.2 billion, but fell 25.3 percent year-on-year.  

Exports to the European Union plunged 13.5 percent, but exports to Africa carried the growth in March into April, rising 2.1 percent in the month.

The cumulative trade value in the first four months slid 25.2 percent year-on-year to US$145 billion. Exports dropped 23.1 percent to US$94 billion. Imports fell 28.7 percent to US$50.9 billion. Trade surplus fell 15.2 percent to US$43.1 billion.  

Fewer overseas orders led to the fall in Shanghai's processing trade value. In April, the value of processed exports lost 22.7 percent to US$6.2 billion. Import values plunged 34.5 percent to US$2.5 billion.

The city's cargo traffic volume went down 15.3 percent to 62.6 million tonnes in this month.

The port of Shanghai handled 49.9 million tonnes of cargo in April, down 2.4 percent year on year. In-bound cargo went up 5.9 percent while out-bound cargo fell 15.6 percent.  

Tracey Jia