By Greg Gao

Shanghai, China’s semiconductor industry hub, imported RMB107.1 billion ($16 billion) worth of IC products in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 0.9%; Its IC exports reached RMB61.04 billion ($9.1 billion), down 0.2%, according to the statistics released by Shanghai Customs.

Shanghai’s total import and export value in the first five months was RMB1.5 trillion ($224 billion), down 2.8% from last year. 

In May, Shanghai’s import and export value hit RMB275.93 billion ($41.2 billion), a month-on-month increase of 25.9%. Among them, the city’s exports reached RMB106.09 billion ($15.8 billion), an increase of 52.4% month-on-month, and the value of its imports was RMB169.84 billion ($25.3 billion), increased by 13.6%.

From January to May, Shanghai exported mechanical and electrical products worth RMB386.16 billion ($57 billion), down 2.7% from last year, accounting for 65.6% of Shanghai’s total export. The export of automobiles was RMB33.53 billion ($5 billion), an increase of 98.9%; the export of mobile phones was RMB23.58 billion ($3.5 billion), an increase of 129.7%.

Also in the first five months, Shanghai imported RMB262.69 billion ($39 billion) of high-tech products, including semiconductors, down 7.6%, accounting for 28.7% of Shanghai’s total imports during this period. The imports of plastics in primary forms reached RMB35.57 billion ($5.3 billion), an increase of 1.7%; the imports of unwrought copper and copper products were RMB28.22 billion ($4.2 billion), an increase of 18.7%. Shanghai’s automobile imports hit RMB28.09 billion ($4.2 billion), down 13.8% in the same period.