China's Ship Exports up 47.3% in H1

BEIJING, July 27 -- China exported US$19.38 billion worth of ships, boats and floating structures in the first six months of this year, 47.3% more than in the same period of last year, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs.

The growth was 4 percentage points lower than in the corresponding period of 2009.

In the period from January to June, the country imported US$1.04 billion worth of such products, 40.9% more than in the corresponding period of last year. The growth was 22 percentage points lower than in the first six months of 2009.

In 2009, the country's ship exports totaled US$27.09 billion, 41.7% more than in the previous year.

China's new ship orders increased 3-fold to 23.78 million deadweight tons in the first half of this year, accounting for 46.2% of the world's total, according to an earlier report from China Knowledge.