According to the “Brief Overview of Huizhou's Economic Operation in 2024” released by Huizhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics on 27 January, Huizhou's regional GDP in 2024 reached 613.639 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2% at constant prices. This is the first time for Huizhou's total GDP to exceed 600 billion yuan.
The value added of Huizhou’s primary industry reached 32.762 billion yuan, an increase of 4.0 per cent year-on-year; the figure for the city’s secondary industry was 318.868 billion yuan, an increase of 7.6 per cent year-on-year; and the figure for its tertiary industry was 262.009 billion yuan, an increase of 0.4 per cent year-on-year.
In 2024, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries was 50.979 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7 per cent year-on-year, with agricultural production showing sigh of steady growth and supply of food and important agricultural products being stable.
Industrial production became the driving force supporting Huizhou’s economic growth. Statistics showed that in 2024 Huizhou’s industrial production achieved sustained and rapid growth, with the value added contributed by industrial enterprises above designated size increasing by 9.7 per cent year-on-year. Among the city’s preferential “2+1” industries, the electronics industry grew by 13.6 per cent; the petrochemical energy and new materials industry grew by 17.9 per cent, with the petrochemical industry growing by 22.2 per cent, the energy industry by 14.3 per cent, and the new materials manufacturing industry by 7.7 per cent; and the life and health manufacturing industry by 9.3 per cent.
It is worth mentioning that the growth rate of value added contributed by advanced manufacturing enterprises above designated size and high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size exceeded more than 10 per cent, an increase of 10.8 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively.
As for the consumption side, under the influence of the consumer goods trade-in policy being vigorously promoted, the city's total retail sales of consumer goods in 2024 amounted to 220.344 billion yuan, an increase of 2.4 per cent year-on-year. Over the past year, incentivized by the policy of providing subsidies for trading-in old vehicles, home appliances and home furnishings for new ones, local people were spending more with a much enhanced sense of happiness.
Huizhou cultural, tourism and sports activities are also bursting with vigor, with more than 100 city-level mass events being held in 2024 and the number of participants exceeding one million. These activities helped promote an active lifestyle among local residents and boost the sales of sports and recreational goods with a growth rate exceeding 254.4%.
The city’s foreign trade also achieved rapid growth. Statistics show that in 2024 Huizhou’s foreign trade volume reached 393.751 billion yuan, an increase of 15.5 per cent. Among them, export volume reached 221.869 billion yuan, an increase of 9.0 per cent; import volume reached 171.883 billion yuan, an increase of 25.2 per cent.
Residents’ incomes have achieved a steady growth as well. Huizhou residents’ per capita disposable income in 2024 was RMB 48,579, up 4.2 per cent year-on-year; after deducting the price factor, the real growth was 4.5 per cent. Per capita disposable income for urban residents was 54,572 yuan, up 3.7 per cent, or 4.0 per cent in real terms; per capita disposable income for rural residents was 32,126 yuan, up 5.2 per cent, or 5.5 per cent in real terms.
Reported by: FENG Lijun, HUI Tongxuan
