Customs officers of the Changsha Huanghua International Airport inspect fresh-cut roses imported from Africa in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 12, 2023. (Changsha Customs/Handout via Xinhua)

CHANGSHA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- In the first four months of 2023, central China's Hunan Province saw its foreign trade with African countries soar by 90.4 percent year on year to hit a record high of over 22 billion yuan (about 3.14 billion U.S. dollars), said local customs authorities on Thursday.

The growth was 40.6 percentage points higher than that of the province's overall foreign trade. During the period, the growth was greatly contributed by the province's export sector, with the export volume reaching 17.4 billion yuan, up 148.7 percent year on year, according to Changsha Customs.

Notably, the agricultural products imported from African countries by Hunan during the period increased by 16.6 times to 150 million yuan. Natural and synthetic rubber and food also posted a robust increase in terms of imports.

From January to April, the province's top three trading partners were South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. Hunan's trade with South Africa alone accounted for more than one-fifth of its total foreign trade with African countries during the period.