Sixth, imports and exports of goods grew noticeably and the trade structure continued to improve.
In the first quarter, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 8.4687 trillion yuan, an increase of 29.2% over the previous year. The total value of exports was 4.6140 trillion yuan, up by 38.7% year on year; and that of imports was 3.8547 trillion yuan, up by 19.3% year on year. The trade balance was 759.3 billion yuan in surplus. In March, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 3.0228 trillion yuan, up by 24.0% year on year. The total value of exports was 1.5554 trillion yuan, up by 20.7% year on year; and that of imports was 1.4674 trillion yuan, up by 27.7% year on year. The trade structure continued to improve. In the first quarter, the imports and exports of general trade accounted for 61.2% of the total value of imports and exports, 1.3 percentage points higher than the same period of the previous year. The imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 46.7% of the total value of imports and exports, 4.4 percentage points higher than the same period during the previous year.
Seventh, consumer prices maintained the same level year on year and producer prices for industrial products went up year on year.
In the first quarter, consumer prices maintained the same level as the previous year. In March, consumer prices were up by 0.4% year on year, and down by 0.2% in February; or down by 0.5% month on month. In the first quarter, consumer prices fell by 0.1% in urban areas and maintained the same level in rural areas. Grouped by commodity categories, the prices of food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 0.6% year on year; clothing was down by 0.2%; housing was down by 0.2%; articles and services for daily use were down by 0.1%; transportation and communication fell by 1.4%; education, culture and recreation were up by 0.3%; medical services were up by 0.3%; and other articles and services were down by 1.1%. In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, the price of grain went up by 1.5%, fresh vegetables were up by 4.8%, and pork was down by 12.5%, or down by 18.4% in March with a decline expanded by 3.5 percentage points compared with February. In the first quarter, the core CPI excluding the price of food and energy stayed the same as that of last year.
In the first quarter, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 2.1% year on year. Specifically, the prices in March went up by 4.4% year on year, 2.7 percentage points higher than the growth in February, or up by 1.6% month on month. In the first quarter, the purchasing prices for industrial products went up by 2.8%. Specifically, the prices in March went up by 5.2%, which was 2.8 percentage points higher than the growth in February, or up by 1.8% month on month.
