Suzhou, an industrial base of east China's Jiangsu Province, scored US$11.91 billion of foreign trade in January 2006.

The customs of Suzhou said it was a 23.6 percent growth as against the same period last year.

The export turnover of the city amounted to US$6.22 billion in January, growing by 37.1 percent, while the import turnover reached US$5.69 billion, up 11.7 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Processing trade still played a predominant role in the city's gross foreign trade volume, with a US$9.1 billion turnover.

The trade volume of general trade amounted to US$1.9 billion, accounting for 16.2 percent of the city's total in the first month of 2006.

Import turnover of general trade was US$910 million, dropping by 10.3 percent year-on-year, which was the first time for the index to decline.

Electronic and mechanical products including integrated circuits, liquid crystal display panels and computer parts were leading components of the city's foreign trade, said the customs.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2006)