Amid weak demand and lower commodity prices, imports, however, fell short of expectations and shrank by 7.9 per cent YoY during the month to $205.21 billion, down further from a fall of 1.4 per cent in March.

On a monthly basis, exports fell by 6.4 per cent and imports fell by 9.7 per cent in April.

The country’s trade surplus in April widened, growing by 82.3 per cent YoY.

Trade with the United States and the European Union (EU) contracted during the month compared to the same month last year.

Exports to the United States were down by 6.5 per cent in April to $43 billion, and imports from there fell by 2.9 per cent to $13.3 billion.

Exports to the EU were down by 17.7 per cent YoY in April to $44.7 billion. Imports from the EU contracted as well, shrinking by 38.6 per cent to $23.4 billion. China's trade surplus with the EU grew by 31.5 per cent to $21.3 billion, a global newswire reported.

Exports to Russia were triple what they were in April last year to $9.6 billion, and imports were up by 7 per cent to $9.6 billion. China has eliminated its trade deficit with Russia, with a 99 per cent shrink of the $5.1 billion deficit in Russia's favour last year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)