Guangdong's import of bulk commodities, including grains, crude oil and natural gas, witnessed big growth in the first two months of the year, indicating demand remained strong in the prosperous southern province, according to a statement released by Guangdong Customs on Wednesday.

Guangdong's import of natural gas increased 63.7 percent year-on-year in January and February, while imports of crude oil and grains also grew year-on-year by 46.3 and 34.9 percent respectively.

Guangdong's imports of integrated circuits enjoyed a year-on-year growth of 15.3 percent from January to February this year, representing 35.9 percent of the province's total imports.

The province's growth in bulk commodities helped Guangdong, one of the major production bases in the world, achieve import and export volume of more than 1.24 trillion yuan ($139.75 billion) in the first two months, up 4.6 percent year-on-year.

Guangdong, the country's biggest foreign trader, sold 789.23 billion yuan worth of products abroad in the first two months, a year-on-year increase of 4.8 percent, while purchasing goods valued at 450.18 billion yuan from foreign nations and regions, up year-on-year by 4.2 percent.

Import and export volume from general trade increased year-on-year by 9 percent in the two months ending February to account for 55.3 percent of the province's total, while foreign trade from processing industry witnessed a reduction of 2 percent year-on-year representing 25.1 percent of the total.

Guangdong's trade with ASEAN, its biggest trading partner, was worth 186.28 billion yuan in the first two months, up year-on-year by 3.2 percent and representing 15 percent of the province's total.

The province's imports and exports with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region saw a year-on-year reduction of 0.7 percent to hit 155.56 billion yuan.

Guangdong's trade with the United States, European Union and Taiwan enjoyed a year-on-year growth of 9 percent, 6.6 percent and 13.7 percent respectively from January to February. ASEAN, Hong Kong, the United States, EU and Taiwan are traditionally the top five trade partners of Guangdong.