JINAN, Jan. 18 -- The agricultural exports of east China's Shandong Province hit a record high in 2022, ranking first in the country for 24 consecutive years, local authorities said.

In 2022, Shandong's agricultural exports reached 139.4 billion yuan (about 20.62 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.6 percent from the previous year. It accounts for 21.3 percent of the total value of China's agricultural exports, according to data from Qingdao Customs and Jinan Customs.

Last year, the agricultural products in Shandong were mainly exported to Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the European Union. The export value of aquatic products, vegetables, and edible fungi accounted for 45.5 percent of the total export value of agricultural products in Shandong.

Data showed that the value of Shandong's foreign trade reached 3.33 trillion yuan in 2022, another record high, with a year-on-year growth of 13.8 percent.