Hebei province saw a respectable increase in the amount of foreign trade in the first half of this year with steady growth and imports and exports amounting to $26.58 billion, according to the customs office in the city of Shijiazhuang.

Data show total import and export volume up by 4.8 percent year on year, with exports of $14.91 billion, for an increase of 1.6 percent and the imports at $11.67 billion, up 9.1 percent.

Private enterprises contribute a lot to the trade in the first half, in fact taking the lead, with their imports and exports worth $12.4 billion, or 46.7 percent of total foreign trade and up by 18.1 percent. At the same time, exports and imports of foreign-invested enterprises both decreased, with total volume worth $8.21 billion dollars, a decrease of 11.7 percent. Foreign trade of State-owned companies was up, with exports increasing 10.9 percent and imports, 4.3 percent.

Among export products, mechanical and electrical products amounted to $4.92 billion, or 33 percent of the total, and first place among exports where electrical appliances, electronic products, metal products and mechanical equipment accounted for the bulk.

Among imports, the iron ore volume sharply increased in June.