Hunan's exports of construction machinery expanded 22.2% year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year to 23.75 billion CNY, data from the Changsha Customs showed on October 28, 2024.

Exports to the EU and Africa grew significantly. Hunan exported 2.86 billion CNY to the European Union (27 countries) during January-September period, an increase of 87.9%. Those to Africa amounted to 1.78 billion CNY, growing by 48.9%.

Private enterprises and Chinese and foreign investment enterprises were active in export performance. In the first nine months, Hunan-based private enterprises exported 14.99 billion CNY of construction machinery, increasing by 29.1% and accounting for 63.1% of the total provincial exported construction machinery during the same period. Chinese and foreign-invested enterprises exported 8.64 billion CNY, an increase of 11.9%. The state-owned enterprises exported 120 million CNY, up 14.0%.

Forklift trucks and lifting and handling machinery were the main exports, witnessing booming growth. In the first three quarters, the export of other electric forklifts and working machinery equipped with lifting or handling devices increased by 59.3% to 2.4 billion CNY. Exports of other motorized forklifts and other working vehicles equipped with lifting or handling devices surged by 216.6% to 2.26 billion CNY.

In the first three quarters, Hunan's construction machinery exported by rail transport increased by 120.7% year on year, with the China-Europe Freight Train Service playing a vital role. Compared to shipping and air transport, the price of freight train service is one-fifth of the cost of airline transport, while the running time is one-fourth of that of shipping.