It said the figures indicated a rising demand on world markets and a recovery from the financial crisis last year.

The city earned US$4.71 billion in exports, 20.5 percent lower than last year’s first quarter, meeting only 23.56 percent of the annual target, the department said.

The department said many sectors recorded high export growth, including electronic products and components (up 66.5 percent to US$121.3 million), garments and textiles (up 9.7 percent to US$800 million), footwear (up 9.6 percent to US$48 million), and seafood (14.1 percent to 142.5 million).

Meanwhile, the domestic economic sector in the city experienced a slowdown in exports, reaching only US$2.2 billion, a fall of 39.6 percent from the same period last year.

However, the city gained a trade surplus in the first quarter, according to the department. Imports were worth US$4.31 billion, mostly from the local economic sector.

But if crude oil revenues were deducted, the city would have a trade deficit of US$974 million, accounting for 29.2 percent of the city’s total export value.