Port of Ningbo Posts Steady Trade Growth with CEECs in November

According to statistics released by Ningbo Customs, the Port of Ningbo recorded a total import and export value of 8.65 billion yuan with Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) in November, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 10.1 percent (the same comparison basis applies hereinafter). Specifically, exports to CEECs amounted to 8.32 billion yuan, up 10.3 percent, while imports from CEECs stood at 330 million yuan, rising by 5.2 percent. Overall, the trade profile for November exhibited the following key features:

I. Private Enterprises Hold Over 80 Percent Share, While Foreign‑Invested and State‑Owned Enterprises Grow Rapidly

In November, private enterprises at the Port of Ningbo recorded 7.3 billion yuan in trade volume with CEECs, up 6.6 percent year on year, representing 84.4 percent of the port’s total trade with CEECs during the same period (the same comparison basis applies hereinafter). Meanwhile, foreign‑invested enterprises and state‑owned enterprises registered 1.08 billion yuan and 270 million yuan in imported and exported goods with CEECs, respectively, up 38.3 percent and 19.5 percent year on year. Their shares in the total stood at 12.5 percent and 3.1 percent, each registering a slight increase over the corresponding period last year.

II. Poland Leads as Top Trade Partner Amid Slovenia‘s Sharp Export-Import Jump

In November, the Port of Ningbo saw its import and export volume with Poland reach 3.63 billion yuan, an increase of 5 percent year on year, accounting for 42 percent of its total trade with CEECs and confirming Poland as the port’s largest partner in the region. During the same period, its trade with Slovenia reached 970 million yuan, surging 67.4 percent year on year and accounting for 11.2 percent of its total trade with CEECs. This surge contributed 5 percentage points to the port’s overall trade growth with the region, making Slovenia the top contributor to the growth. Separately, its trade volume with Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria amounted to 760 million yuan, 650 million yuan, and 400 million yuan, clocking year-on-year growth of 12.5 percent, 38 percent, and 63 percent, respectively.

III. Machinery and Electronic Products Emerge as Primary Driver of Export Growth

Exports of machinery and electronic products from the Port of Ningbo to CEECs rose 21.5 percent year on year to 5.52 billion yuan in November. This figure made up 66.3 percent of the port’s total exports to the region and contributed 12.9 percentage points to the overall export growth.Within this category, led by electronic components which soared 165.9 percent to 590 million yuan, exports of electrical equipment also rose 17.9 percent to 560 million yuan. However, exports of labor-intensive products underperformed the overall export trend, dragged down primarily by textiles and apparel, whose exports dropped 28.5 percent to 780 million yuan in the month. By contrast, other major labor-intensive goods such as furniture and their components, plastic products, and toys rose 7.6 percent, 18.8 percent, and 13.2 percent, respectively.

IV. Imports of Copper, Agricultural Goods Slide While Machinery and Electronic Products Advance

Imports of unwrought copper and copper materials from CEECs fell 6.8 percent year on year to 98.172 million yuan at the Port of Ningbo in November. This value accounted for 30.3 percent of the port’s total import value from the region during the same period. Within this category, imports of unwrought copper-zinc alloy increased 5.4 percent to 53.142 million yuan, while those of high-quality copper cathodes fell 22.9 percent to 40.322 million yuan. Separately, imports of agricultural products dropped 20.1 percent to 21.761 million yuan. On the upside, imports of machinery and electronic products climbed 9.4 percent to 51.229 million yuan. In addition, imports ofplastics in primary forms, steel, and pulp, paper & paper products saw even sharper increases, soaring 489.8 percent, 256.4 percent, and 154.2 percent, respectively. However, given their relatively low base values, their contribution to the overall import growth remained limited.