The export value of North China's Shanxi province in the third quarter hit 24.99 billion yuan ($3.73 billion), setting a record, according to the Taiyuan Customs on Oct 23. 

Despite an overall year-on-year decrease in the value of foreign trade in the first three quarters, imports and exports continued to improve month by month.

Over the past nine months, the value of Shanxi's ordinary foreign trade was 36.77 billion yuan, accounting for 37.4 percent of the province's total foreign trade.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products turned from the negative to a positive gain during the period and exports of epidemic prevention materials increased rapidly. 

In the first three quarters, the export value of Shanxi's electromechanical products reached 43 billion yuan, an increase of 2.5 percent, accounting for 76 percent of the province's exports of the products. Exports of anti-epidemic supplies reached 430 million yuan, a growth of 197.2 percent on the previous corresponding period. 

Imports and exports by private enterprises increased significantly during the period with exports totaling 12.56 billion yuan, up 12.2 percent year-on-year and imports coming in at 10.82 billion yuan, up 37 percent year-on-year. 

In addition, foreign trade to the European Union also grew rapidly in the past nine months to 12.81 billion yuan, up 23.5 percent year-on-year, due to a surge in exports of mobile phone products in the third quarter.