East China's Zhejiang province reported a record 335.28 billion yuan ($51.97 billion) foreign trade in April, surging 40 percent from last April, according to the latest data released by the Hangzhou customs office on May 10.

Zhejiang's foreign trade in April was the fourth highest among all provincial-level regions, with exports and imports ranked third and sixth, respectively.

Zhejiang's trade with the European Union, the United States, and South Korea in April grew by 27.6 percent, 28.2 percent, and 21.6 percent year-on-year, respectively, while its trade with emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa surged 61.8 percent, 62.2 percent, and 46.6 percent.

The province's exports of machinery and electronics rose by 38.4 percent year-on-year to 109.6 billion yuan in April, making up 45.5 percent of the province's total exports.

The province's imports of consumer goods grew by 18 percent to 9.17 billion yuan in April, while its imports of resources saw even more dramatic growth, with the imports of iron ore and crude petroleum surging 83.9 percent and 118.1 percent to 8.24 billion yuan and 8.01 billion yuan, respectively.

The private sector contributed 251.52 billion yuan in foreign trade in April, up 44.2 percent year-on-year and accounting for 75 percent of the province's total trade, 2.2 percentage points higher than in last April.

Twenty-eight billion yuan in goods were exported under the market procurement trade model, which features quick customs clearance, convenience, and value-added tax exemptions. The figure was 1.1 times more than last April.