A container ship anchors at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, waiting to be unloaded. [Photo by Yao Feng/For China Daily]

The value of Zhejiang province's foreign trade in the first quarter of this year hit 861.9 billion yuan ($132.7 billion), soaring by 37.2 percent year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from customs authorities.

Exports and imports in Zhejiang surged 39 percent and 32.9 percent respectively to 613.79 billion yuan and 249.11 billion yuan in the first quarter.

Zhejiang's foreign trade volume in March stood at 289.89 billion yuan, up 27.8 percent from the previous year. The province's monthly imports amounted to a record high of 99.65 billion yuan.

In Q1, the province's foreign trade volume accounted for 10.2 percent of the national aggregate, up 0.6 percent from the previous year.