Shanghai saw its total import and export value surge by 18.8 percent year-on-year to 1.54 trillion yuan ($239.8 billion) in the first five months of the year, Shanghai Customs District said on Thursday.

The total export value increased 9.4 percent year-on-year to 580 billion yuan in Shanghai in the five months, while the total import value rose 25.4 percent on a yearly basis to cross 961 billion yuan. Therefore, the city’s total trade deficit expanded by 61.4 percent from a year earlier to 381 billion yuan, according to Shanghai Customs District.

Privately-owned companies reported a total import and export value of more than 416.4 billion yuan, up 36.4 percent year-on-year. The total imports and exports realized by foreign-invested companies increased 14 percent during the same period to come at 954.2 billion yuan, taking up 61.9 percent of the city’s total. State-owned enterprises saw their total import and export value climb 11.1 percent to reach 168.9 billion yuan.

The import and export value made with European Union members, which comprise the biggest trade partner with Shanghai, surged 28.8 percent to 315.3 billion yuan. ASEAN members totaled 213 billion yuan, up 19.3 percent year-on-year.

The total export value of automobiles nearly doubled on a yearly basis to 16.9 billion yuan. Meanwhile, Shanghai companies exported mechanical and electrical products valued at 397.2 billion yuan, up 10.9 percent year-on-year. The export value of integrated circuit products increased 7.3 percent to 61.2 billion yuan.

Shanghai imported a total of 284.2 billion yuan of high-tech products in the first five months, up 12.4 percent year-on-year. The import value of integrated circuit products dropped 5.5 percent year-on-year to come at 108.1 billion yuan. The city imported 26.1 billion yuan worth of automatic data processing equipment, up 37.5 percent, while the import value for automatic control instruments for measurement, detection and analysis increased 16.4 percent year-on-year to reach 29.1 billion yuan.