A worker examines nylon products at a plant in Hai'an, a county-level city in Nantong on Oct 9. The county is home to more than 200 nylon firms, with total annual output accounting for one eighth of the country's total. [Photo/VCG]

The import and export volume of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province totaled 185.94 billion yuan ($26.21 billion) for the first three quarters of this year, according to statistics released by the local customs department on Oct 28.

The figure was the fourth highest recorded in Jiangsu, accounting for 5.8 percent of the province's total foreign trade.

Statistics reveal that trade with European markets has seen significant growth, rising 22.6 percent year on year, while trade with ASEAN members and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative also rose steadily –– at 5.6 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.

From January to September, the export of electromechanical and petrochemical products saw a slight decrease, while that of textile products maintained growth of 3 percent.

Natural gas remained one of the city's top imports, increasing 14.8 percent compared to the same period last year and accounting for 30.8 percent of the city's total imports. The import of integrated circuits dropped 40.9 percent.