Private enterprises in Guangdong province maintained their position as the largest foreign trade business entities in the first four months of the year, according to a statement by Guangdong Customs on Sunday.

Non-governmental companies reached an import and export volume of more than 1.53 trillion yuan ($226.67 billion) from January to April — year-on-year growth of 6.5 percent, representing 60.5 percent of the province's total foreign trade volume, which was up 4.1 percentage points.

Over the same period, foreign-funded companies hit a foreign trade volume of 854.45 billion yuan, accounting for 33.8 percent of the province's total, while the import and export volume recorded by State-owned enterprises hit 139.09 billion yuan, representing 5.5 percent of the total, the statement said.

The strong foreign trade performance from non-governmental companies has helped Guangdong reach a foreign trade volume of 2.52 trillion yuan in the first four months, a slight reduction year-on-year of 0.7 percent, the statement said.

Guangdong, China's biggest foreign trader, sold 1.68 trillion yuan of products abroad, up year-on-year 5.4 percent, while it purchased goods valued at 841.5 billion yuan from the rest of the world, a year-on-year reduction of 10.9 percent, in the first four months, the statement said.

But Guangdong's import of bulk commodities continues to witness big growth because of strong domestic demand and the economic recovery. The province's imports increased year-on-year for iron ore (22.7 percent), coal (27.6 percent) and crude oil (13.4 percent) in the first fourth months.

Guangdong's rebound in social retail consumption has helped the province increase its import of pearls and gemstones by 28 percent. Its import of jewelry saw growth by a multiple of 6.7 year-on-year in the first four months.

After years of effort, Guangdong companies have further diversified their global market, the statement said.

Guangdong's foreign trade with its major trading partners in ASEAN countries and the European Union grew by 7.8 and 0.3 percent year-on-year in the first four months, respectively.

The province's foreign trade with countries related to the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 9.8 percent, accounting for 29.3 percent of the total, while its import and export volume to RCEP member countries enjoyed a year-on-year rise of 0.7 percent between January and April.

Meanwhile, Guangdong foreign trade with Brazil and Chile in Latin America increased by 30.7 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, in the first four months.