The container terminal in Shantou, Guangdong province. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]

Foreign trade volume of South China's Guangdong province enjoyed substantial growth of 33.4 percent year-on-year to hit 1.83 trillion yuan ($281.54 billion) in the first three months of this year.

According to statistics released by Guangdong customs on Monday, the province, the country's biggest foreign trader, sold more than 1.12 trillion yuan worth of products abroad, up 41.6 percent year-on-year. It purchased more than 700 billion yuan worth of products from foreign countries and regions, up 22.2 percent year-on-year, from January to March.

Both export and import volume reached record highs in history, according to a statement released by Guangdong customs.

In addition to the recovery of the world market, local government has introduced a series of policies and measures to help promote foreign trade, which play an important role in the province's economic construction, Xin Yang, a senior customs officer, said.

Guangdong's foreign trade with the United States witnessed major growth of 62.5 percent to 204.71 billion yuan in the first quarter, the statement said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, European Union and the United States, as well as China's island of Taiwan, became Guangdong's top five trading partners.

The province's foreign trade with ASEAN, Hong Kong, the European Union and Taiwan hit 280.91 billion yuan, 248.27 billion yuan, 208.17 billion yuan and 139.25 billion yuan between January and March, representing year-on-year growth of 28.4 percent, 31.4 percent, 40.9 percent and 33.1 percent, respectively.