Up to May this year, the total import and export trade of goods in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region reached 2.96 billion yuan (0.44 billion US dollars)), which is a 86.5% increase over the same period last year. To be specific, exports amounted to 1.09 billion yuan (0.16 billion US dollars), an increase of 2.1%; and imports 1.87 billion yuan (0.28 billion US dollars), a 2.6-fold increase.

Information from Lhasa customs shows strong growth in the first five months as gross value of total import and export for general trade in Tibet reached 2.06 billion yuan (0.30 billion US dollars), which constitutes a 2.8-fold increase, accounting for 69.6% of the total import and export trade in Tibet.

From a trade balance perspective, the market demand inside and outside of Tibet, and especially the continuous development of aviation, has led to steady growth in import via air transport. Imports have increased much more than exports, as the export trade deficit reached 780 million yuan (115 million US dollars).