URUMQI, March 16 -- The foreign trade volume of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region soared 86.4 percent year on year to 44.4 billion yuan (about 6.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of this year.

According to Urumqi customs, the region saw exports reach 38.15 billion yuan in the period, up 91.6 percent year on year, while its imports grew by 59.8 percent year on year to 6.24 billion yuan.

By the end of February, there were 15,308 registered foreign trade enterprises in Xinjiang. The number increased by 7.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

In the first two months, private enterprises in Xinjiang conducted foreign trade worth 42.7 billion yuan, an increase of 99.7 percent year on year and accounting for 96.2 percent of the region's foreign trade volume.

Labor-intensive, mechanical, and electrical products were Xinjiang's major export items. The export of new energy products, including lithium batteries, solar cells, and new energy vehicles, increased significantly, according to the customs.

The customs vowed to continuously optimize the clearance of imported fertilizers to cope with the domestic demand for spring plowing. In the first two months, the import value of fertilizers chalked up to 1.1 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 101.6 percent.