Shanghai exports to EU down 7.9pc but city's Euro imports up 5.5pc

BEING an important gateway for Sino-European trade, Shanghai recorded a year-on-year decline of 7.9 per cent in the export to Europe Union (EU) in the first half of this year, but EU imports jumped 5.5 per cent, Xinhua reports.

Shanghai Customs officer Wang Chengming said import rise is significant to the EU, particularly in the context of the debt crisis. The EU keeps rolling out trade-protection measures against China, widening the imbalance of the Sino-European bilateral trade, and this might result in continuous growth of imports from EU.

Shanghai Customs statistics show, in the first quarter, the value of China's imports from EU increased 3.3 per cent to US$104.76 billion. Thirty-four per cent was contributed by Shanghai. Shanghai imports grew 2.1 per cent, and those from EU grew 5.5 per cent year on year. In comparison, its imports from the US fell 2.6 per cent.

In this period, Shanghai's automotive imports from EU grew 23.6 per cent to $5.76 billion, up 23.6 per cent, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the city's vehicular import total. Pharmaceutical imports rose 34.4 per cent to $1.97 billion. Agricultural imports increased 24.9 per cent to $1.27 billion. Aircraft imports soared 215 per cent to $1.17 billion.

Shanghai also imported 50,000 tonnes of dairy products from the EU, 83.1 per cent more year on year, mostly from Poland, Spain, Austria, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, France Danmark and Belgium. Many of these countries are deeply troubled by Euro-debt crisis.

Evgenios Kalpyris, Consul General of Greece in Shanghai said the growth of Shanghai's European imports is not coincidence or a gift, but the result of China's opening-up policies and mutual political trust.

On the other hand, affected by EU's trade protection measures, China's exports from EU dropped 0.8 per cent to $163.1 billion. Shanghai's export to EU even fell 7.9 per cent. Export to Germany fell 1.6 per cent, to Italy dived 30 per cent, to France slid 27.3 per cent, to Spain dropped 3.3 per cent.