Tomato sauce export of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China increased by 15 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period of last year, statistics from the regional customs showed.

The region exported 77,500 tons of tomato sauce, worth US$40.45 million, to Italy, Russia and Japan in the period.

The region also exported 2,100 tons of tomato sauce to Kazakhstan in the first quarter. This was the first time for the region to export such product to Central Asia.

The region's tomato sauce export to the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates enjoyed an average rise of 94.9 percent in the first quarter.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)