Northeast China’s Jilin province reports steady economic growth in the first quarter of 2019. [Photo/IC]

Jilin province in Northeast China saw a steady start to the year with 2.4 percent economic growth in the first quarter, according to the province’s statistics authority.

Jilin’s GDP hit 270.18 billion yuan ($39.8 billion) in the first three months of 2019, representing a year-on-year growth of 2.4 percent.

The province experienced a growth of 2.3 percent in its primary industry, a growth of 1.5 percent in its secondary industry, and a growth of 3.5 percent in its tertiary sector during the period.

The added value of the province’s agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries was 14.04 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent.

In the first quarter, the province saw steady growth in its commerce, with the added value of industrial businesses above an officially designated size (those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or more) experiencing average year-on-year growth of 1.5 percent.

The added value of the hi-tech industry reported a year-on-year growth of 4.6 percent.

The service sector contributed a lot to economic growth in the first quarter, with its total output value accounting for 54.4 percent of the province’s GDP.

The growth rate of exports accelerated in Q1, while imports took a hit. In the three months, the province's total import and export value reached 29.93 billion yuan, down 8.3 percent year-on-year. Of this, the total value of exports was 8.08 billion yuan, up 10.1 percent year-on-year, and total value of imports came in at 21.85 billion yuan, down 13.7 percent.

The income of Jilin’s residents maintained good growth. During the period, the average per capita disposable income of urban residents in the province was 8,296 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 4,983 yuan, also a year-on-year growth of 7 percent.