Exports of China's hi-tech products have been soaring since April 2002, with a year-to-year growth rate exceeding 40 percent for 30 consecutive months through September, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

Export volume of hi-tech products reached 112.95 billion US dollars in the Jan.- Sept. period, up 54.3 percent year on year and 19 percentage points higher than the average export volume. The monthly export volume in September was 31.41 billion US dollars, surpassing 30 billion US dollars for the first time.

The MOC figures showed that export volume of hi-tech products accounted for 27.1 percent of China's total export volume in the first three quarters, growing 2 percentage points over the end of 2003.

Prices for major hi-tech products saw a substantial increase, with prices for auto-digital processing equipment and IDE (integrated device electronics) both rising 22 percent.

About 41 percent of the exported hi-tech products were manufactured in the Yangtze Rive delta regions, including Shanghai and Suzhou and Zhejiang provinces. The United States, Hong Kong and the European Union are the top three target markets of China's hi-tech products.