HAIKOU - The foreign trade volume of South China's Hainan province reached 90.59 billion yuan ($13.21 billion) in 2019, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Haikou Customs.

The province's exports hit 34.37 billion yuan in 2019, with a year-on-year increase of 15.4 percent, and the imports increased 2.1 percent to 56.22 billion yuan last year.

The duty-free imports showed a robust growth last year, surging by 89.7 percent to 13.27 billion yuan.

Hainan's foreign trade with the countries under the Belt and Road Initiative reached 35.23 billion yuan, up 10.6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 38.9 percent of the province's total. Its trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 42.3 percent to 27.77 billion yuan, taking up 30.7 percent of the total.

Hainan has trade connections with 183 countries and regions, up 13.7 percent from the previous year, said Ju Chunmei, an official with the Haikou Customs.