Imports and exports continued to surge at Shanghai port, with the volume totaling 245.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of 2008.

Shanghai Customs statistics showed the trade volume was 26.6 percent up year on year, 7.4 percentage points higher than that of same period of last year.

With this volume, Shanghai port did about one-quarter of the country's foreign trade, said a source.

In a breakdown, exports totaled 155.73 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.2 percent, and imports made up 89.77 billion U.S. dollars, up 23.9 percent, of which, imports under general trade accounted for 35.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.2 percent from a year ago but 3.2 percentage points faster.

Foreign trade peaked in May at Shanghai port to hit 51.86 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.6 percent from the same month a year ago.

The lion's share of the foreign trade at Shanghai port was done by overseas financed ventures, followed by state-owned companies and private Chinese businesses.

The European Union (EU) remained the port's top trading partner, followed by the United States, Japan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)