Container vessels loading at Yangshan Port, Shanghai. [Photo by JI HAIXIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Foreign trade in East China's Shanghai hit 1.01 trillion yuan ($158 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, according to Shanghai customs.

The figure represents a 14.6 percent increase from the same period of last year, it added.

Of the total trade volume, exports rose 23.8 percent year-on-year to 413.5 billion yuan, while imports expanded by 8.9 percent to 594.4 billion yuan.

Mechanical and electrical products accounted for 68.7 percent of the city's exports in Q1, while exports of automobiles, mobile phones, lithium-ion batteries and labor-intensive products registered growth. High-tech products were Shanghai's main imported products during the period.

The city's largest trade partner in the first quarter was the European Union, with a total trade volume of 196.2 billion yuan.