The agricultural product export trade in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province experienced a boom in the first four months of this year, Jinan customs announced at a news conference on May 13.

Jinan exported 2.07 billion yuan ($321.1 million) of agricultural products to 126 countries and regions during the period, accounting for 5.4 percent of the province's total.

The export volume of agricultural products in the city increased by 66.7 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

The increase is due to an improvement in the conditions for developing agriculture. Jinan is a demonstration city for exported food and agricultural products in terms of quality and safety. The city is home to 480 leading agricultural enterprises above municipal level, including eight at national level.

Chinese green onion planting is a pillar industry in Zhangqiu district and dates back to 2,600 years. [Photo/VCG]

Local specialties such as Chinese green onions in Zhangqiu district, rose flowers in Pingyin county and gingers in Laiwu district have been included in the national agricultural regional public brand list that has a total brand value of more than 1 billion yuan.

The upgrading of the city's agricultural export industry has been accelerated, and the industrial chain of deep processing has been developing.

The export of deep processing products such as dehydrated and pickled products has increased. The market shares of city's agro-products in the United States, Europe and Japan have also been expanding from January to April this year.

Jinan customs also issued 10 measures to promote the city's agricultural product exports at the conference, such as opening a green channel, expanding AEO certification, and reducing or exempting tax for agricultural companies.