Guangdong’s First-Half Trade Tops 5.49 Trillion Yuan, June Single Month Hits Record 1.05 Trillion Yuan

According to Guangzhou Daily, official customs data released at a press briefing hosted by the Information Office of Guangdong Provincial People’s Government on 17 July lays out robust foreign trade performance across Guangdong for the first six months of 2026, with historic highs recorded for both half-year and single-month cross-border cargo volumes.

Statistics from the General Administration of Customs Guangdong Sub-Administration show total goods import and export turnover reached 5.49 trillion yuan in the first half, marking the first time the provincial half-year trade value has surpassed the 5 trillion yuan threshold, with a year-on-year rise of 20.8 per cent. The province accounts for 21.6 per cent of China’s national foreign trade volume, generating an incremental trade value of 944.71 billion yuan and contributing 25.6 per cent of overall national trade growth, leading all provincial-level regions across China in market share, incremental volume and growth contribution. Breakdown figures record exports at 3.22 trillion yuan, up 11.6 per cent year on year, while imports stood at 2.27 trillion yuan with a 36.8 per cent annual increase.

Senior officials from the General Administration of Customs Guangdong Sub-Administration outline consistent monthly expansion breaking successive historical benchmarks. January saw provincial trade pass 900 billion yuan for the first time, before April, May and June each set new all-time monthly records. June delivered a landmark single-month performance of 1.05 trillion yuan of cross-border goods trade, the first month where Guangdong’s monthly turnover exceeded one trillion yuan, representing a 30.3 per cent year-on-year uplift. June exports totalled 607.44 billion yuan (up 15.1 per cent), with imports reaching 444.14 billion yuan (a steep 59.1 per cent year-on-year rise).

Export portfolios across Guangdong pivot steadily towards innovative and low-carbon manufactured goods, with green energy hardware delivering sharp growth. Lithium battery shipments rose 42.7 per cent year on year, while electric vehicle exports expanded by 35.3 per cent. Operational trade entities also register broader participation; 174,000 enterprises recorded cross-border trading activity in the first half, an increase of 44,000 on the same period last year. The province’s top 100 trading firms jointly handled 2.21 trillion yuan of import and export business, posting 65.4 per cent year-on-year growth and acting as a primary growth driver for regional trade.

Guangzhou stands out as a core trading hub within the province, with consumer goods export growth exceeding 20 per cent and forming a central pillar of the wider Guangdong Global Trade Initiative. Senior officials from Guangzhou Customs detail strong overseas demand for air conditioning units fuelled by sustained heatwaves across Europe, with 3.6 billion yuan worth of air conditioning equipment shipped from Guangzhou in the first half. The European Union ranks as the largest overseas market for these cooling appliances, absorbing one third of total shipments, with deliveries to France and the Netherlands doubling in volume. Split-type air conditioning models dominate export volumes, with key production facilities for in-demand product lines located in Nansha District of Guangzhou.

Passenger vehicle exports also deliver robust overseas sales performance from Guangzhou. More than 150,000 passenger cars were exported over the six-month window, representing a 72.4 per cent year-on-year increase with a total value exceeding 16.5 billion yuan, dispatched to more than 150 countries and territories spanning six continents. Low-carbon automotive products define Guangzhou’s overseas trade profile, with electric passenger vehicles accounting for over sixty per cent of total car shipments and registering full-year growth in excess of 100 per cent.

Domestic branded merchandise forms a fast-expanding segment of Guangzhou’s export mix, aligned with central policy guidance to upgrade cross-border trade quality, raise brand influence and lift product value added. Official Guangzhou Customs figures record 101.16 billion yuan worth of self-owned brand exports from the city in the first half, a 45.6 per cent year-on-year expansion that far outpaces overall municipal trade growth and generates more than 30 billion yuan of incremental export value. Self-owned brands now make up nearly one quarter of Guangzhou’s total export volume, a 6.7 percentage point improvement compared with the first half of 2025.

These proprietary manufactured goods reach more than 200 overseas markets worldwide, with export volumes recording positive year-on-year expansion for close to eighty per cent of these trade destinations. Industrial operators across Guangdong continue scaling production capacity for green and innovative export hardware, while customs clearance procedures are streamlined to shorten logistics turnaround for cross-border consignments. Supply chains connecting manufacturing hubs to global shipping terminals maintain stable operation to accommodate sustained overseas order intake across consumer electronics, new energy vehicles and climate control appliances.